The Sun.
London, England, 1857-12-09 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS—(YESTERDAY.)
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack
at 5 o'clock.
The LORD CHANCELLOR presented a petition
from Mr. Grimshaw, of Bank House near Burnley,
praying Parliament to pass a law to settle the question
whether a married woman should have the power of ap-
pointing trustees of property acquired by inheritance.
The Earl of DERBY, referring to the statement be
made last night respecting the transmission of troops to
India, said the authority upon which he relied was now
in Paris, but a letter had been written to that person,
and he thought he shou!el be in a position, either
to show that the President of the Board of Con-
trol laboured under a defective memory, or to make
an apology for the statement. ,
PROVISION TO SIR HENRY HAVELOCK.

The CLERK at the table having read her Majesty's
Message,
Earl GRANVILLE said he had now the gratifying
duty to propose to their lordships to mom a reply
to her Majesty in answer to her most gracious message
just read. He felt sure in doing so he should meet with
the most cordial weenimity of both sides of the hot se.
(Hear.) General Havelock was not a young officer,
ho entered the army in 1815, and had taken part in
every campaign in India up to 1354, including the
Persian war. (Hear.) He felt it would be tedious to
their lordships if he detained them by detailing
the number of medals and honours which he
had acquired, so he would pass from that
part of the subject. Gen. Havelock arrived in India
almost simultaneously with the outbreak in India, and
he immediately hastened to j ,it) Gen. Neill at Allahabad,
who was at that moment endeavouring to effect the
relief of Cawnpore ; but they all know that that object
was not effected until too late to prevent the dreadful
massacre of women and children which had taken place.
General Havelock, shortly after this event, had defeated
the enemy no less than four times between the 12th and
161 e July, and after so doing he marched towards Luck-
now, and on the 29th July he again encountered the
enemy and fought two battles, in both of which he was
victorious, the mutineers being defeated with an immense
loss of life. He trusted that God in his divine mercy
would still protect this gallant band of heroes. Having
passed a glowing enlogium on Gen. Wilson, the noble
earl concluded by moving a resolution, which was in
effect an echo of her Majesty's message, assuring her
Majesty that their lordships would gladly co-eperate
wive her Majesty in granting a pension of 1,0001. per
annum during the period of his natural life. (Cheers.)
The Earl of DERBY rose to second the motion pro-
posed by his noble friend, but having so recently enlarged
at considerable length on the great achievements and
gallant deeds of Gen. Havelock, it was not necessary for
him on the present occasion to do more than express his
most cordial concurrence t the address in answer to her
Majesty's gracious message. However, he could not sit
down without reminding their lordships of the brilliant
services of another gallant officer who had borne a sig-
nal part in the dangers and glories of this contest—he
referred to Col. Inglis, who had so long commanded the
garrison of Lucknotv. (Loud cheers) He hoped the
services of that gallant officer would not go long unre-
qeited, and that his name would never cease to be held
in that honour which his great deeds merited. (Loud
cheers.)

The motion was agreed to unanimously.
RELIGIOUS WORSHIP ACT AMENDMENT
BILL.
_ _

The Ea'l of SETAFTESBURY then rose, not for the
purpose of moving the second reading of this bill, but
simply to explain the reasons which induced him to
give notice of the measure. The noble earl
then proceeded to derail the whole of the
circumstances connected with the prohibition of a series
of religious services announced to be given in Exe-
ter Hall. The grounds stated for this extraordinary
proceeding were, that the services bad not answered the
purpose for which they were intended, and that they
were not attended by the class of persons for whose
special instruction they were given. Ile had been asked
to postpone this bill for the convenience of the Bench of
Bishops. He knew what that meant. But it was a
scandal to the Church when the Bishops confessed their
impotency to relieve, and betook theineelves to words—
confessing, in fact, that the Church of England was no
longer competent to the task she had undertaken. His
lord:hip then postponed the second reading.
Tue Ea►l of DERBY deprecated discussion as prema-
ture.

The Bishop of ST. DAVID'S denied the Advantage
of the movement, and defended Mr. Edouard's conduct

The Bishop of LONDON thought No great a move
went should not be stopped by the veto of a single in-
cumbent, and according to the canon law, which gave
the bishop of the diocese a concurrent jurisdiction in

_ ..
every parish with the incumbent, he doubted the legality
of Mr. Riouard's refusal.

L rd PANMURE regretted the termination of the
service. He had attended them, and been much ediSed.
After a few ~cords from the Eat! of SHAFTESBURY,
The debate was adjourned to be Bth Feb.
THE AUSTRTA TRANSPORT.

The Earl of HARD WICKE moved fora copy of the
o intract made with the owners :;f the s'eamship Austria
;or the c mycyance of the 94th Regiment to India. Tae
regiment, he said, was ordered to prepare for 'Ala in the
month of August it had been 16 years in India, had
returned Lome only one year, and was therefore well
adapted by its experience for service in India. Tie

regiment :tarted frurn C )rk on Oct. ri.h, in the Aus`Jia,
the ship had put back three times Piymouth, and
the men were now under orders to go overland to India.
Tire Au .trig was the property of some Dutch owners,
and although a very fine ship, was not in the opini )n of
the surveyor, fit to take troops to India, and she was
ordered to be fitted with another deck. The Austria,
however, sailed without th s additional deck, the conse-
quence was, that after touching the 13.t,y of Biscay, she
was obliged to return to Plymouth. A second time the

ship returned in consequence of some accident to the
engines. The crew were foreigners, the captain was a
foreigner, and the ship was very difficult to steer, and
without her engines was almost unmanlgeable. From

the 5.h of Oct. to this day the regiment hai arrivedovly
at Pl 3 mouth from Cork, and is niw waiting for embarka-
tion for India. While all this delay was taking place, the

country had a reserve force of 10,000 men and an im-
mense navy, which were lying perfectly idle and unem-
ployed. In the port of Plymouth, was lying the St. Jean
d'Acre, with her engineers a:AI officers perfectly ready
to go to sea. Of all ships in the world a British man-of-
..

war was the most perfect and convenient transport in the
world. The Belle Isle had carried troops on several
occasions to China and other places, and with the greatest
economy. Now that we had lost 100,000 men in the
Bengal army, and it was necessary hat more frequent
communication should be kept up with that country, it
was well worthy of consideration whether it woul I t

be of great advantage to this country if a transport
service were formed at once out of some of the ships of
the navy. The country really might as well contract for
the defence of the nation and the supply of a navy, as, in
the present state of naval science, leave the transport of
troops to be performed by contract, and by the mercan-
tile navy of the country. (Hear.)
Lord PANMURE said that the contract referred to by
the noble earl was not one made by the G-Jverrnient at all,
but by the EAstludia Company, who took upsll theships
that were required, and paid the expenseir of the convey-
ance of the troops' and who were responsible for their
safe delivery in India. This had been the practice
since the green's troops were sent out to India. With
respect to the case of the Austria, it would be found
that atnor g all the numerous vessels which were taken
up by the company for the conveyance of nearly 50,000
men, this ship had been the only one in any
casualty bad occurred. It was the only instar:ce of com-
plsint having been 1 rsmght forward against the East
India Company fur having failed to attend to the com-
fort and safety, and everything that rclat,d to their in-
ternal economy. He felt bound to say for the Court of
Directors that they had shown the greatest anxiety to

secure for the army the best vessels which they could
obtain, and that they were also anxious to secure for
themselves from tha army in India, whose services were
required at the earliest possible period. No doubt the

Austria was not a suitable vessel for the conveyance of
the troops. But as soon as the noble duke the Com-
mander-in-Chief heard of the delays which had taken
place, he, in conjunction with her Majesty's Government,
had de.prmined that the regiment should be sent over-

land to india, so that it would probably even cow arrive
at its destination almost as soon as if no cualty had

occurred. With respect to the employment of the ships
of the navy for the conveyance of troops, there was no
objection on the part of the Government so to employ
them when the necessity for doing so arose. A short
time since, one of the ships on the Mediterranean station
had brought home a regiment with great comfort and
convenience to the men • but on ordinary occasions the
Government was enabled to obtain readily the use of
vessels- in every way adapted for the conveyance of
troops. He was not aware that the board of directors
would offer any objection to the production of the copy
of the contract moved for by the noble earl, but he re•
peated the Government were not responsible for what
occurred in reference to the Austria, and the noble earl
ought not to lose sight of the fact that that was the only
case olany casualty having occurred in Bonding out a
large body of troops to India.
In answer to a question from Lord MELVILLE,
Lord PANMURE said that the Austria wra surveyed
by an officer in the employ of the East India Company.
The motion was then agreed to.
GENERAL HAVELOCK AND THE INDIAN

.
OFFICERS.
The Duke of CAMBRIDGE said be was unavoidably
absent from the discussion in the earlier pea of the
evening, and ho was fully aware that he was out of
order in now referring to it. But ho hoped their lord-
ships-wculd permit him to do so, as he was extremely
anxious that it should not be iupposed that be did not
concur in everything that bad been raid of Sir Henry
Haveleek. (Hear.) Ho assured their lordships that no
ono in that house was more di-posed to do honour to that
gallant and distinguished soldier than he was. No doubt
many greater campaigns could be found in history, but
he questioned whether any service had ever been per-
formed by an officer commanding his troops with greater
zeal, greater devotion to his country, greater judgment,
and greater discretion, than had been shown by the Ole-
tinguiihed officer whom their lordships had honoured
that evening. (Hear, bear.) Not alone had his troops
hbeaednaeuxerpazddetdo
tvheertny
on
nrgaell tub:do:ses
:b ofut ttileeyenheamdybad t
enemy, who
contend against one of the most desperate chniatee to
exposed. (Hear.) indeed,
Eheurßopueans could not march
it whichhad. au Eannehl:sehalusaaindctohualtd
atandpefirgfalartmiethsautmlevrician,
ohrems ee
d troopsitom had ad
nobly.bad
performed
ft
Fu circumstances eh ciieustaeces much depended upon
(Hear.)their In
leaders
;
the troops looked to them, and ho
Miffed that General Havelock, among his other dis.