The Sun.
London, England, 1858-06-15 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PAR LIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS.—(YEsTER)PA.y.)
ROYAL COMMISSION.
The Royal assent was givers by commission to the
fol owing bills :—The Franchise Prisons, Non-Parochial
Registers, Stamp Duty on Passports, Chelsea, Hospital
(Perchase of Lands), Metropolitan Board of Works
(Victoria-park Approaches), Porturana-bridge (Ire-
land), Liverpool Exchange, Manchester Assize
Court House, Manchester Improvement, Tay Fishe-
ries, Ely Valley Railway, Selkirk and Gala,ffiels
Railway, Malvern Improvement, Birmingham Canal
Navigation, Garngad Road, Vauxhall Bridge Road,
Staffordshire Potteries Gae, Trent Navigation, London
Dock Campany, Burgbead Harbour, Maidstone Gas,
Manchester, Hyde, and Motteram Road, Stoke, Fenton
and Longton GAII, Sufferance \Vbarvee (Port of Lon-
don), Beseeleleigh P iad, Brentferd Gaga Inverury and
Old Meldrum Railway, Bainbridge, Lisburn, and Bel
fast Railway, and Alyth Railway.
The Royal Commissioners were the Lord Chancellor,
the Marquis of Salisbury, and the Earl of Hardwicke.
Their lordships adj iurned during pleasure.
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the wool-
sack at five o'clock.
THE INSOLVENCY LAWS.
The LORD CHANCELLOR presented a petition,
signed by 3,000 merchants of London, praying for the
assimilation of the insolvency and bankruptcy laws. The
noble lord said the sunject was a very difficult and com-
plicated one, but he trusted, in the course of a few
days, to lay upon the table a bill on the subject which he
hoped would be looked upon as a great improvement on
the present law.
Lord BROUGHAM agreed with the prayer of the
petitioners that there was great necessity for amending
the bankruptcy and insolvency laws. In the bill which
was to be laid on the table, he hoped there would be no
attempt to pay official assignees by salary. Such a cir-
cumstance would be attended with the very worst con-
sequences.
CHURCH RATE ABOLITION BILL.
Lard PORTMAN, seeing the noble duke present
who bad charge of the bill, begged to ask to postpone
for a few days, from the day now fixed, the second read-
ing of the bill.
The Duke of SOMERSET had no objection to its
postponement for a short time.
ADMISSION OF THE JEWS TO PARLIAMENT.
The Earl of CLANCARTY gave notice that, when
either of the two bills which stood upon the paper, with
respect to the admission of Jews to Parliament, came
on for a second reading, be should move that they be
read a second time that day six months.
The Earl of MA.L MESBURY said he regretted to
inform the house that the Earl of Derby was prevented
from being present by illness, and that he would pro•
bably be confined to the house for the remainder of the
week. Under such circumstances, he hoped both bills
would be postponer].
Lord LUCAN said be had no objection to the post-
ponement of his bill, but the noble and learned lord's
(Lyndhursee) stood first on the paper.
Lord REDESDALE said it was his intention most
strenuously to oppose both bills. He thought it was against
the rules of the house to introduce a second bill on a
subj et which bad been r• jected in a former bill. (No,
no.) Although he was opposed to compromise, yet that
did not preclude other noble lords from entertaining
that view, but as the bill which had been sent down from
the House of Commons now remained with them, they
could not alter it, but it was quite competent for the
House of Commons to make such amendments as would
meet this view of the subject. He thought any propo-
sition for a compromise ought to come from the other
house.
After a few words from Lord BROUGHAM the subject
dropped.
Oa the motion of Lord REDESDALE the following
were read a second time :—Ayr and Delmellington Rail-
way, Bradf .rd Corporation Water, East Kent Railway
(Dever Extension), Mersey Docks and Harbour (Con-
solidation of Acts), Mersey Docks and Harbour (New
Works), Cromford and High Peak Railway, Birkenhead
Improvement Commissioners (B mdtolders Arrange-.
merit), Luton, Dunstable, and Welwyn Junction, and
Herttord and Welwyn Junction Railway Companies
Amalgamation ; Bury and Radcliffe Water, Ballymena
and Bellymony and Celeraine and Portrush Junction
Railway, Tramore Embankment, Manchester Corpora-
tion Water, Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire
Railway (Newton Compstall) ; Northampton Ga', and
Manchester Poor.
The East Suffolk Railway Bill was read a third time
and passed.
PROBATE ACT AMENDMENT BILL.
This bill passed throcgh committee.
DIVORCE AND MATRIMONIAL CAUSES ACT
AMENDMENT BILL.
On the order of the day for going into committee on
this bill,
Lord REDESDALE said he did not see why the
provisions of the bill should not extend to Ireland. He
was opposed to the bill when it was first proposed, but
if they did legislate at all, they ought to legislate for the
whole of the United Kingdom.
The Earl of WICKLOW said he took the oppor-
tunity of asking whether it was the intentioa of the
Government to introduce a bill for Ireland I—and he
was astonished at the answer of the Lord Chancellor,
which was that they would not introduce a bill fore Ire-
land because of the expense with which it would be
attended. He hoped the noble and learned lord on the
woolsack would state whether it was the intention of
the Government to assimilate the law between the two
countries ; and, if not, that he would give a substantial
reason for r.o: doing so. He protested against this mode
of legislating separately for the two countries.
The LORD CHANCELLOR said it was perfectly true
that hedid, when the question was put to him, say that the
expense would be eufficient to justifythe governrnent in not
bringing for ward such a measure, but the noble earl would
do him the justice to recollect that some time afterwards
a similar question was put to him by a noble and learned
lord, and he answered that question by saying it was
not intended to introduce such a measure, and he recol-
lected the Lord Chief Justice expressing his regret that
they had no such intention. Now, in the first place,
he did not think it desirable until the Divorce Court
had been more tried, and they had more experience of
its eff,cts, to introduce a measure for Ireland. He was
not answerable for what the late Lord Chancellor might
have promised. If his noble and learned friend desired
that it should be extended to Ireland he might bring in
a bib now, but certainly he did not envy any one the
task who undertook to introduce a bill on such a sub-
ject in reference to the sister country. He had no wish
to bring in such a bill, nor any intention to do so. He
believed there was no strong desire for it in that country,
and, on the contrary, that there was an apprehension
in some quarters that it would be extended to Ireland.
At all events, he bad no intention to introduce a bid to
extend the divorce courts to Ireland.
Lord CRAN WORTH said the question was put to him
when he was Lord Chancellor, arid he replied that he
snould not prop ire to extend the measure to Ireland, be-
cause he was perfectly aware that there were circumstan-
ces which might render a measure desirable for England
which was not desirable for Ireland, but he toll the noble
lord that he would bring in a bill to assimilate the law
of the two countries, so far as the social state of the two
countries rendered it possible or desirable. And un-
doubtedly he should have fulfilled that pledge bad he
remained in office, but when be ceased to hold office, it
appeared to him that the introduction of a bill affecting
the social state of the country was a matter that no man
not connected with the government ought to be called
upon to undertake. It was necessary to obtain infer-
mation, and a variety of details which it was impossible
for any one not connected with government to get.
Tuerefore, although it had been his intention, in con-
currence with his colleagues, bad he continued to hold
the great seal, to fulfil that promise, when he left office
be thought him-elf absolved. Having said that, he could
only say that if in accordance with the suggestion of the
noble lord they so altered the bill as to enable Irish sub-
jects to come to the court here, he should see no objec-
tion to it.
The Earl of DONOUGHMORE deprecated extend-
ing the measure to Ireland, and sa'd he hoped that at
all events their lordships would not agree to the propo-
ion of the Chairman of Committees.
Lord CAMPBELL said it would be monstrous that
Irishmen should come over as suitors to England. All
her Majesty's Scotch subjects had a remedy by apply-
ing to the Court of Session, and her Majesty's English
subjects bad a remedy by presenting a petition to the
Divorce Court. If the measure were extended to Ire-
land be thought it should be by another bill.
After a few wards front Lord REDESDALE, who
said he was precluded when in committee from propos-
ing any amendment, but that he could do so on the re-
porn
The house went into conernittee,:and the several clauses
were agreed to without any amendment being proposed
to s xteed the measure to Ireland.
The house then resumed.
The Duke of BUCCLEUCH inquired whether any
steps were in conteennlition, or had been taken, to refer
to a commission, or to a committee of either house of
Parliament, the present establishment and organisation
of the permanent staff of regiments of militia, with the
view to render the staff more effective, both when the
regiments are disembodied and :deo when embodied m-
etalled out for training ? Whether it was intended to
call out for traieing this year all or any of the regiments
of militia which have not been recently embodied ? If
were these regiments
to
to w i ngtue nit
rdteedre
idoo sboa, r
rhaoewk
billets, or other-
wise / 130 guderstood from an answer which
had been given in the other house, that it
was the intention of her Majesty's Government to
issue a conawiss,on to consider in what manner the per-
manent staff might be made more efficient. At the pre-
sent moment time was great difficulty in procuring effi-
cient officers. It might ho said that they could be ob-
tained from the pensioners, but they would be of little
use, because the system of drill had been most materially
altered. The pay was so small, that non-commissioned
officers who had no pension could not subsist without
working at some trade, and the result was that they had
no time to attend to the course of instruction and exer-
cise in floe Minis rifle, and, therefore, when called upon
they were not so efficient as they ought to be. Another
obstacle to their acquiring a knowledge of the Minie rifle
was, that the weapons served out to them were nothing
but the old dint and steel muskets, ornamented with
percussion locks. The pay of the adjutant was perfectly
inadequate to provide bite with proper lodgings. He
could not procure such ]edgings for 10s. a week, and in
the regiment which he commanded the adjutant could
not obtain convenient accommodation for less than 50/.
or 601. a eear. Then, with respect to his second ques-
tion, whether it was the intention cf the government to
call out fur training this year any of the regiments of
militia which have recently been embodied. If the militia
was to be kept in a state of efficiency, the regiments must