The Sun.
London, England, 1859-07-22 00:00:00

PUBLIC HEALTH BILL.

On the motion of the Earl of GRANVILLE this bill
was read a second time.

Lord DUNGANNON presented a petition from the
clergy of Buckingham against any alteration in the present
marriage law which might legalise marriage with a de-
ceased wife's sister.

THE HARBOUR OF MALTA.
The Earl of CARNARVON, according to notice, put a
question to the First Lord of the Admiralty as to the ar-
rangements now under consideration by the Admiralty,
for the redistribution of the harbours of Malta, and for the
better naval protection of the town. Considerable dissen-
sion had arisen between the navy and the merchant service
in consequence of the want of accommodation, and the in-
crease both in the number of war vessels and merchantshipping requiring the use of the port. In fact, the pre-
sent arrangements were quite beneath the necessary re-
quirements of the fleet and our mercantile marine. The
late Gave nment had a plan before them,
when they went
out of office, by which, at an expense of about £70,000, this
defect would have been supplied, by converting a morass at
one end of the existing harbours into a harbour for mer-
chant shipping. He wished to know whether the noble
duke p
intended to carry out that lan 9 He did not say that
at this period he would ask that the 'sum named should be
introduced in a supplemental vote, but looking at the
pressing necessity of the case with reference to the wants
of our own maine, he begged to urge the completion of
some such plan at the earliest possible
moment. With re •
spect to the latter part of his question which had reference
to the better protection, it was desirable under the present
state of affairs that as little should be said on such subjects as
possible. He would therefore simply sonfine himself to the
statement that the fortifications and defences of Malta were
not in that satisfactory state which they ought to be, see-
ing how important a key it constituted for the defence of
our commerce, and the maintenance of our position as a
great maritime power. He knew that the putting of these
fortifications into a proper condition was a question con-
nected with the general subject of the military defences of
the country. He knew also that of late those fortifications
had in some cases been repaired and strengthened, but he was
sure that the noble duke would agree with him, that look-
ing at the extremely important position of Malta, the port
and harbours should be put into the most perfect condition
without delay.

The Duke-of SOMERSET said he was impressed with
the importance of the subject to which the noble earl had
called the attention of their lordships. The difficulty in deal-
ing with the want of sufficient accommodation for both the
navy and the merchant ships which used the harbours lay
in the fact, that the greater the number of the Mediterra-
nean fleet the larger also was the number of merchant
ships that frequented the harbours. That was forcibly
shown during the time of the Crimean war, when the
pressure upon the accommodation in the harbours was
very great. He admitted that in that point of view alone,
apart from the other considerations to which the noble earl
had adverted, it was most desirable that some arrange-
ments should 'be made for remedying the admitted defi-
ciencies of those harbours, and he could assure the noble
l•rd that the Government had the subject under their con-
sideration with a desire to do all that lay in their power for
that purpose. With respect to the plans referred to by the
noble earl he would only say that they had been prepared
and sent over here a considerable time ago, and that they
had been in the possession of the late Government for more
than five months. When he came into office he found that,
although the late Government had prepared not only the
ordinary, but the supplemental estimates for the year, they
did not include a vote for the carrying out of those plans.
He did not like, therefore, in the course of a few days, to
incur the responsibility of pressing a question which in•
volved the expenditure of somewhere about £BO,OOO. The
subject required some time, but he would admit that it was
most desirable something should be done with the least
possible delay. He repeated that the question was under
the consideration of the Government, and they would do
all in their power to carry out the objects in view.
Lord STRATFORD de REDCLIFFE was grateful to
the noble duke for the statement that this question was
under the consideration of the Government, but he rose
merely to say that though the question was an urgent and
pressing one as far as regarded the accommodation to be
given to our own shipping, both naval and mercantile, it
was more important, looking at the present state of affairs
on the Continent, in a military point of view. Malta was
a port associated with historical recollections, to which he
need not refer, but it was sufficiently obvious that the put-
ting of the harbours and the town into the most perfect
state of defence was a question which demanded serious
attention and instant action.
The Duke of NEWCASTLE said he perhaps could
ans Rer the question of his noble friend. He could assure
his noble friend that neither ;the War Office, in the first
place, nor the Admiralty in the second, had neglected this
matter, and he could further assure his noble friend that
the members of her Majesty's Government were in com-
munication upon the subject, and that no steps should be
neglected in relation to it.
Their lordships then adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—(YESTERDAY.)
The SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock.
PRIVATE BUSINESS.
The Lords' amendments to the Witney Railway (No. 2)
Bill were considered and agreed to.
The following Bills were read a third time and passed :
Bagenalstown and Wexford Railway; British and Canadian
Telegraph Company; Bury St. Edmund's Gas ; Cleveland
Railway; Dublin and Drogheda Railway; Dundalk and
Enniskillen Railway; Finford Bridge and Banbury Road;
Gloucester and Cheltenham Tramway Abandonment;
Kensington Station and North and South London Junc-
tion Railway ; Lancashire and Yorkshire and East Lanca-
shire Railway Companies ; Lancaster and Carlisle Rail-
way ; Leeds, Bradford, and Halifax Junction Railway ;
London and North 'Western Railway (Sutton Coldfield
Branch, changed from " Birmingham, Edringt9;
and Sutton Coldfield Railway (Western Line) ;

Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway ; Malltraeth and
Corsddaugau Marsh ; Midland Railway (Erewash Valley);
Mid-Sussex and Midhurat Junction Railway; Newry
and Armagh Railway ; North Eastern and Bedale and Ley-
burn Railway Companies Amalgamation; North Eastern
Railway
.(Harrogate Branches); Norwich Corn Exchange ;
Perth, Kinross, and Fife Roads ; South Staffordshire Rail-
way ; South Yorkshire Railway and River Dun Company ;
Stockton and Darlington Railway; Sunderland Dock (No.
2) ; Ulster Railway; Victoria Station and Pimlico Rail-
way ; and West-end of London and Crystal Palace Railway
(No. 1).

ROYAL COMMISSION.
The house was summoned to the House of Lords by the
Usher of the Black Rod to hear the Royal assent given by
commission to several bills, for which see Lords' report.
CORPORATION OF LONDON REFORM BILL.
Mr. EDWIN JAMES gave notice that on the second
reading of this bill he would move that any bill which did
not embody the recommendation of the commission of 1854
would be an incomplete measure.
MORTALITY IN TRINIDAD.
Sir DE L. EVANS moved an address for copy of con-
tinuation of the correspondence concerning the mortality
and sickness of the 41st Regiment at Trinidad, and con-
cerning the unhealthy location of the barracks in that co-
lony, dated War-office, the 7th day of April, 1859.—Or-
dered.