The Sun.
London, England, 1861-02-14 00:00:00

COURT OF ADMIRALTY.

The LORD CHANCELLOR brought in a bill for the
improvement of the Court of Admiralty.

The bill was read a first time.
THE TROOPS IN CHINA.

Lord HERBERT said it had happened fortunately for
him that the first time he had to address their lordships
was on a subject which he anticipated would
meet with unanimous approval. He would not
go into the circumstances that were the occasion of
the war in China.' (Hear, hear, from the Earl of Derby.)
It would be quite sufficient for him to say that imme-
diately on the arrival of the news of what he was com-
pelled to call the disasters at the mouth of the Peiho,
troops were sent out by the Government as soon as pos-
sible to stop the spread of the disaster. At this point
he wished to pay a tribute to an officer, who, though
called upon to fill a much higher post in India, left with
great regret a duty which he would no doubt have fulfilled
admirably, he alluded to Colonel Hathorn. (Hear, hear.)
The troops sailed, and it would be interesting to their
lordships to know how they arrived in that
distant part of the world. He would read a
portion of a private letter from Sir Hope Grant de-
scribing the troops under his command. [The noble lord
here read the letter he referred to, which spoke
in very high terms of the troops placed under his
command.] On the Ist of August the force landed
at Petang. That country was in a state that
rendered military operations necessary ; but notwithstand-
ing that the period of their arrival had been very short, the
troops, after a short engagement, took the place after a very
strong resistance. The bravery and intrepidity displayed
by the troops on that occasion were beyond all praise.
After a short time it became absolutely necessary
to capture the Taku forts, which offered a strong obstacle
to the advance of the army. They were of great strength
and surrounded with wet ditches, which were almost im-
passable. Our troops gallantly overcame all difficulty, and
with the success that had attended their previous efforts
gallantly captured the place in the face of all obstacles. It
was necessary to dwell upen this part of the war a moment.
Since that Pekin had been taken, and we had obtained
a number of brilliant successes. reople were apt
to forget the difficulties which the troops had
triumphed over on the breaking out of the war.
The manner in which the; guns were brought up on that
occasion was worthy of the highest praise, for despite
a heavy fire all were placed in such a position as to ren-
der all further resistance on the part of the. Chinese
futile. The noble lord then noticed the other operations
of the army, and came to the engagement at Tien-tsin. At
this place it was supposed by some persons that the
Chinese were desirous of peace, and that we
had forced them into hostilities by our aggressive oonduct,
but in his opinion nothing was more ridiculous. Not
only in Sir Hope Grant's despatches, but in private
letters, all he had seen appeared quite the
contrary. So careful was General Grant to prevent the
Chinese from misunderstanding, that he allowed himself
to be almost surrounded by the ,Tartar troops before orders
were given for the forces to open fire. The conduct of the
Ist Dragoon Guards was of a very brilliant description,
such as would shed a further lustre on that distinguished
corps. (Hear, hear.) The noble lord then referred to the
naval forces. He had seen letters from Admiral Seymour,
the best colleague that could possibly have been
selected for Sir H. Grant. Referring to the Armstrong
guns, he thought their power had created the utmost sur-
prise to the enemy, and was such as to confirm the strong
opinion the Government entertained of their efficiency,
and ho thought he might congratulate the country on their
acquisition.

LLEFT SPEAKING.]

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—(THIS EVENING).
The SPEAKER 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-
m nstration in its favour. Objections were made to the I
present bill on the ground ttiat 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 committee were so fully satisfied as to its public inutility,
that they decided against it without hearing any evidence on
thepart 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. DALGLISII 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 £15,000 was expended in opposing the bill of last
session, 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 carefullyconsidered 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.
He 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 case had been made out to
induce him to withhold his assent to the bill being referrad
to a select committee.
After a few words from Mr. BLACKBURN the house
divided, when there appeared,
For the motion
Against
—46
Majority
The bill was then read a second time.
PRIVATE BILLS.
The East India Irrigation and Canal Rail way Bill was
withdrawn.
Several private bills were read a first time.
NAVAL ADMINISTRATION.
.Sir J. PAKINGTON gave notice that on air early day
he would move for a select committee to inquire into the
co; astitutiou of the Board of Admiralty, and to ipquire also