The Sun.
London, England, 1861-02-15 00:00:00

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this respec.
I/ aey did their duty well, and he cordially
concurred .t
the compliment which it was now proposed to
pay them , Sti 11 he thought they ought to have an oppor-
tunity ° I exp' eessing their opinion upon the policy of our
contest • with' China, and he hoped the Government would
afford . the 'Louse an opportunity of doing this. If it did
not, b e sl could. certainly deem it to be his duty to bring the
sulajc:ct ran der their lordships' consideration.
T. he I,)v.ke of SOMERSET did not think it was neces-
op 17, after what had been already said by noble lords who
had addressed their lordships on that occasion, to say
more then to express his satisfaction at the bravery and
skill of the navy engaged in the war with China; He
could no,t allow the occasion to pass without readitk an
extract from a letter from Sir Hope Grant in reference to
the use of the gunboats in the war in China. The noble
lord read the extract in question, which testified to the
great value of the gunboats, without which the army would
have had to contend with great inconveniences. The re-
sult of the war in China had led to the ratification of a
treaty t ha t could not tut be highly beneficial to this country,
and thiiy owed much to the Earl of Elgin for having twice
gone f.o China as our commissioner, and for the ability and
zeal 'which he had displayed throughont in the arduous
deg' which he had to perform. (Hear.)
'the Marquis of BATH said he could not do less on that
occasion than express his deep abhorrence at the destruc-
tion of the Emperor's palace at Pekin, which he regretted
to hear had received the sanction of the Earl of
Elgin,de-
spite the remonstrance of the French authorities in China.
He must enter his protest against this act of vandalism,
which was only to be compared with the burning of the
Alexandrian library and the sack of Rome by the Constable
Bourbon.
The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH said it was to be recol-
lected that they had to deal in this matter with Orientals,
and that it was necessary to strike terror into them by some
such act as that referred to by the noble marquis. They
owed much to the Earl of Elgin, who had made great sacri-
fices for the honour of his country, and whose conduct was
marked by judgment and discretion. They owed the
glorious result in China to the exertions of their brave
army and nay", and the compliment now paid them was
what they justly merited.
The vote of thanks was then agreed to, and the house
adjourned at seven o'clock.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.--(YESTERDAY.)
The SPEA.XER took the chair at four o'clock.
PRIVATE BUSINESS.
The standing orders were declared to have been com-
plied with in the case of several railway and other bills.
CALEDONIAN, EDINBURGH AND GLASGOW,
AND SCOTTISH CENTRAL RAILWAYS BILL.

Mr. BLACKBURN, in moving the second reading of

this bill, said that he was the chairman of the Edinburgh
and Glasgow Railer ay, which was one of the undertakings
proposed to be amalgamated. This bill had been intro-
duced for the first time last session, and after a most
patient hearing from the committee to which it was re-
ferred, it was rejected on the ground that sufficient public
benefit would not be realised by the bill to jus-
tify its adoption. The Opposition to the bill
proceeded from the Town Council of Edinburgh and Glas-
gow, and other places, and no less than 77 petitions had
been presented against it, while there was no similar de-
monstration in its favour. Objections were made to the
present bill on the ground that it contained the same fea-
tures as that introduced last session. He contended that
the objections were unfounded, as the bill was materially
altered from that of its predecessor, and said no
case had been made out against the bill being referred to a
select committee.
Mr. BLACK opposed the second reading, as the real
object of the bill was to monopolise the whole of the traffic
from England to the south and west of Scotland. The

present bill was essentially the same as that of last year, and

the committeewere sofully satisfiedas to its public inutility,
that they decided against it without hearing any evidence on
the'part of its opponents. Amongst the petitioners against
the bill were mineral owners and proprietors of 12 railway
companies in Scotland, who might naturally be supposed
to be as well acquainted with their own and the national
interests as the promoters of this bill. The alterations in
the present measure were very trivial, and he doubted
Very much whether their so-called amendments would
effect any improvement. He concluded by moving that
the bill be read a second time this day seven months.
Mr. DALGLISH supported the amendment, and said
that the whole community which would be affected by this
bill were opposed to it. He objected to the bill also on the
general principle that he was opposed to amalgamation.

Mr. B. COCHRANE, as one of the proprietors residing
on the line of the proposed railway, bore testimony to the
fact that the opinions of all the proprietors on that line were
not adverse to this bill.

Mr. INGHAM, as one of the members of the committee
who rejected the bill, stated that it appeared to the com-
mercial public in Scotland that it would be more conducive
to commercial interests if there were competition, instead
of the whole traffic being surrendered into the hands of
three amalgamated companies.
Colonel SYKES said that the real question in reference
to this measure was whether or not the public in Scotland
should be left at the mercy of a monopoly. He had voted
against the original measure, because it surrendered the
public into the hands of a monopoly, and for the same rea-
son he would vote against the present measure. No less
than C. 5,000 was expended in opposing the bill of last
ression, which was a proof of its unpopularity.
Sir J. J. FERGUSON said there were advantages
offered to the public in this bill, such as the rates, which
entitled it to be carefully considered before its rejection. He
therefore supported the motion.

The LORD-ADVOCATE said that the question at
issue in reference to this bill had been fairly tried last ses-
sion, and the bill had been decided against on its merits.
lie thought the house should affirm the principle that
they would not sanction the opponents of a bill being put•
yearly to 'the expense of contesting it, if the promoters
thought fit to introduce it annually. He must, therefore,
oppose the second reading of this bill.
Mr. CAIRD said the bill had been brought before the
house seven times, and under the circumstances he must
oppose the present motion.

Mr. HADFIELD supported the bill, and wished to know
whether the opposition was authorised by Government.
Mr. M. GIBSON said that the bill had been under the
consideration of the Board of Trade, and they did not think
there was anything in regard to it that justified the de-
parture from the usual practice of making any special re-
port, but left its merits to be decided on by the house.

Mr. MASSEY said that no ease had been made out to
induce him to withhold his assent to the bill being referred
to a select committee.
After a few words from Mr. BLACKBURN the house
divided, when there appeared,

For the motion
Against
Majority
The bill was then read a second time. '
PRIVATE BILLS.

Th© East India Irrigation and Canal Railway Bill was
'withdrawn.

Several private bills were read a first time.
NAVAL ADMINISTRATION.

Sit J. PAKINGTON gave notice that on an early day
be would move for a select committee to inquire into the
constitution of the Board of Admiralty, and to inquire also
whether some mode might not be devised more efficient
than the present for the administration of naval affairs.
DRAINAGE OF LAND, &c.
Sir J. SHELLEY asked the Secretary of State for the
Home Department, whether it was the intention of the
Government to introduce any measures for further facili-
tating the drainage of lands by the improvement of outfalls
and arterial channels ?

Sir G. C. LEWIS said he believed that considerable in-
terest existed on the subject, and a bill was in preparation,
which would be laid before the house on an early day.
THE MILITARY AND CONSTABULARY AT
LONDONDERRY.

Mr. M'CORMICK inquired of the Chief Secretary for
Ireland by whose advice and recommendation a large
number of the military and constabulary force were sent
into the city and county of Londonderry, on or about the
18th of December last ; and whether any correspondence or
documents. upon which such orders were made were in
existence, and would be produced.
Mr. CARDWELL said that in sending troops and con-
stabulary to Londonderry the Government acted on their
own responsibility.
SCHOOLMASTERS IN SCOTLAND, &c.

Mr. STIRLIRG asked the Lord-Advocate if he pro-
posed to introduce in the present session any bill for the
relief of the parochial schoolmasters of Scotland, whose
salaries had been diminished by the expiry of the late Act.

The LORD-ADVOCATE said ho had submitted the
matter to the consideration of the Government, but he
could not say what would be the nature of the bill, or
when it would be introduced.
VAGRANCY, &c. (SCOTLAND).

In answer to Sir S. FERCRISSON,
The LORD-ADVOCATE said that ho had a bill in pro-
Paration en these subjects, and he took that opportunity
of a,tik,ting that ho was also prepared to introduce a bill
on the of the fisheries in Scotland.

Oa the' that:it:moth:4mi NEW WRIT.
issn
of Mr. BRAND a writ was ordered to be
6n of a member of Parliament in tto
place of Sir Jou, Owen,..n Bart., deceased.
THE ARMY
4NTILE NAVY ENGAGED IN
TIE CIIINESE WAR.
Lord PALMERstoN____I
sir, to perform one of the
most agreeable duties that eat risefall to the 14 of a member
of this house, and in doing that ,'I call upon the house also
to perform one of those functions
t
swhich must be most gra-
tifying to them, I
mean
t( movehat the thanks of this
house be given to a number of brave and gallant officeltf
great
difficulty
the army and navy who have performed brilliant aA;
tinguished services under circumstances of - and —s-
and attended with great and remarkable
hear.) The operations to which I refer took piseee.iii(nilea, r?
last year. They were, in the first place, performed by rco—t'llia
paratively small force in one of the most distant parts of il;
globe. They were performed by a force which was perhaps
beater equipped than any that ever left the shores of this or
say ether country. There WAO nothing wanting on the part