The Sun.
London, England, 1867-05-10 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT

HOUSE OF LORDS.—LAST EVENING.
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack
at five o'clock.

PRIVATE BUSINESS:

The Great Eastern Railway, Edinburgh Improvement,
Barker Mills Estate, North London Railway, and Great
Eastern (Steamboats) Bills were read a second time.
THE LUXEMBURG QUESTION.
3 I In answer to Earl RUSSELL,

Lord DEttBY said the Conference appointed to discuss

this question had only met to-day at hall-past ten o'clock,
and he had not heard what had taken place, but he was
given to understand that there exists a feeling of mutuality
in the Conference, and that practically the peace of Europe
is secured.

POLICY OF INS,URANCE BILL.

Lord CLANHICARDE moved the second reading of

this bill.

The LORD CHANCELLOR. considered that this bill
ought to be referred to a select committee. Since the reign
of George 11. a great deal of legislation had taken place on
the subject.
The bill was read a second time.
RELIGIOUS SITES BILL.

The report of the amendinents to this bill was brought
befor the house, and the bill passed.
THE DEMONSTRATION IN HYDE PARK.

Earl COWPER wished to inquire into the late proceed-
ings iu Hyde-park, and to move that papers relative to the
orders given as to the closing of the park and the
instructions given to the police be laid on the table. He
reprobated severely the conduct of a Government keep-
ing in office on sufferance, and carrying out a
measure of reform without consulting the interests and
wishes of the people. It was not the wish of any one on
his side of the house to disturb the present Government,
but ho did consider it was his duty to request a further
amount of information on the matter, and the best course
to pursue, in his opinion, was to give a plain history of the
facts from the commencement. The noble earl then re-
ferred to the original opinion given by the law officers of
the Crown on the closing of the Park, and the
still later proceedings. He would ask were there
no other lawyers as able as the legal gentlemen
who advised the Crown ? When a vast amount
of expression of opinion on .the ,part of the people had
taken place ou the subject, still it was only on Sunday
afternoon that the meeting was permitted to take place on
Monday. The Government had filled the neighbourhood
with the military and police, and then had given
way, inflicting a great blow on the constitutional
authority and bringing it into contempt. He could not
too highly praise the conduct of the people on Monday.
(Hear, hear.)
The Earl of DERBY—Although the noble earl who has
jut sat down has moved for the production of papers, I
apprehend that it is not his object to press that motion.
The first of the documents to which ho refers has been
already published, and with respect to the instructions
given to the police it is not usual to produce such papers,
and their production now would establish a very inconve-
nient precedent. I apprehend that the noble earl only
meant to use the motion for those documents as a means of
enabling him to express his opinion with respect to the
course adopted by her Majesty's Government on the subject
of the late meeting, and so far am I from complaining of the
course taken by the noble earl that I am inclined to offer
him my thanks for having afforded us an opportunity of
fully discussing the matter in this house, where I am sure
your lordships will come to its consideration calmly, tem-
perately, and impartially. I desire nothing more than to
have an opportunity of laying before your lordships all the
circumstances under which the Government acted, and
thereupon, if your lordships should think fit, to invite an
expression of your opinion upon it. But before I say a word
with respect to the Government I must take the earliest
opportunity of saying something in vindication of a right
hon. friend of mine who has been subject to the greatest in-
justice and misrepresentation. I refer to Mr. Walpole. I
regret to state that the labour which he has had to sustain
in his office, increased as it has been by the unfortunate
absence of the efficient Under Secretary (Mr. Waddington),
in consequence of serious and protracted indisposition, that
that labour, and the mental anxiety ho has had to undergo
in the course of the last few weeks, have so considerably
impaired his health, acting as they have done on a mind
more than ordinarily sensitive, that he has felt compelled
to represent to me that it was absolutely necessary that he
should no longer continue to discharge the duties of that
office, and he has accordingly, in spite of my most earnest
remonstrances, placed in my hands his resignation, which
I have been compelled most reluctantly to submit to the
consideration of her Majesty. The Cabinet will thus lose
a very efficient member—(hear, hear)—and personally wo
shall all feel we are parting with a man than whom one
more amiable, more honourable, more thoroughly conscien-
tious I have never had the good fortune t 3 act with
(Cheers.) But lam bound to add this is no case in which
auything that has been done ought to be visited upon my
right hon. friend. It is no departmental question. (Hear,
hear.) It is a question which affects the Government as a
whole, and there is not one member of the Cabinet—and
least of all can I pretend to be such a member—who is not
as fully and entirely responsible for all that has been done
as the particular Minister referred to. (Hear, hear.) It has
been charged against him that ho has exhibited great vacil-
lation, great weakness, great change of purpose ; but I
believe there has been no vacillation and no change of pur-
pose. The course pursued from the first has been one and
the same determined upon by the Cabinet after the most
anxious andcareful deliberation, and founded upon the best
reference we could make to the opinions of the present and
former law officers of the Crown. The noble earl had spoken
as if the year 1866 was the first occasion on which the
question had arisen, but it is hardly necessary for me to re-
mind your lordships that riots took place in 1855 on seve-
ral consecutive Sundays, which were not sought to be put
down until great alarm had been created. In 1856 refe-
rence was made by the Government of the day to the law
officers of the Crown, and a case was submitted on behalf
of the Board of Works for the opinions of the law officers
upon the following points in relation to the metropolitan
parks: _ .

- First, Is there any authority to close the gates of the in-
closure and exclude the public altogether during the day ?
Secondly, The gates of the iuelosures being open, is there
any authority to prevent the ingress of persons to the in-
closures, those persons conducting themselves properly
and orderly in their attempt to obtain ingress? Thirdly-,
Supposing persons to have entered, and to preach, or play
upna musical instruments, or to sing, does any authority
exist to turn out persons so preaching, or praying, or sing-
ing, out of the parks, supposing they do not obstruct a
thoroughfare, or cause a disturbance ? And if so, you are
particularly requested to state what is the nature of the
authority, and how it is derived.