The Sun.
London, England, 1861-05-16 00:00:00

THE A.TeMY.

The Alfred, hired troupship, Captain Pope, ar-
rived at Spithead yesterday, from China, with a
detachment of the Ist battalion 2d (Queen's
Royals) Regiment on board. She sailed from
Hongkong on 20th December, 1860, and from the
Cape of Good Hope on the 3d of March, 1861. Her
voyage from the Cape has been long and tedious,
from the long continuance :of light east winds.
She will be towed into Portsmouth Harbour this
morning, and land the troops at the dockyard to
join head quarters in Portsmouth garrison.
The York, hired troopship, Captain Redpath,
arrived at Spithead yesterday from China, with a
detachment of the 87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers)
Regiment on board, under the command of Cap-
tain :William Hanmer. The York sailed from
Hong Kong on the 21st December, 1860, and from
St. Helena on the Bth of March. All news by this
vessel, as in the case of the Alfred, has been antici-
pated from the Cape and St. Helena. Four deaths
took place during the voyage home.

PUBLIC BUSINESS IN THE HOUSE OF
LORDS.

The following Report from the Select Committee
of the House of Lords, appointed to consider " whe-
ther, by any alterations in the forms and proceed-
ings of this House, the despatch of public business
can be more effectually p;..omoted," was issued yes-
terday :--
"The Committee are of opinion that the forms
and practice of this house are well calculated to pre-
vent delay in the passing of bills, or in the trans-
action of other business; but the house has had
frequently to regret that bills have been sent up by
the other House of Parliament at so late a period
of the session as to render it impossible to give them
that full consideration which the public interests
require. That this is not a novel complaint is proved
by the Standing Order of May 5, 1668, and the
subsequent proceedings of this house. It appears
to the Committee that two modes of remedying this
evil may be suggested ; either that some portion of
the legislation which now originates in the House
of Commons should commence in this house, or that
some alteration should be made in the forms and
proceedings of the other house which would enable
it to devote more time and attention to legislative
measures during the early part of the session. The
Committee would observe that, independently of
financial measures, which begin as of course in the
House of Commons, the representative character of
that house renders it expedient that some other classes
of important bills should first be discussed there, and
should be reviewed rather than proposed in this
house. It is obvious that the course of proceeding
by which such measures may be so expedited in
their passage through the other house, so as to
allow of their full consideration by the Lorde, and
td enable the Commons and this House afterwards
to give due attention to any amendment which may
have been proposed there, must rest entirely with
the House of Commons itself. In pursuance, how-
ever, of the power given to them, the Committee
directed their chairman to place himself in commu-
nication with the chairman of the Committee in the
Commons on the business of the house, with a view
to facilitate the co-operation of the House of Lords
in any arrangements which might require the joint
action of the two houses. They also authorised
him to make the following suggestions :
"I. That it is expedient, in certain cases, to
adopt an abridged form of proceeding with refer-
ence to bills which shall be again brought before
the house after having been passed by it in the im-
mediately preceding session of the same Parlia-
ment.

"2. That the bills in respect to which such
abridged form of proceeding may be adopted shall
be, mutatis mutandia, the same bills which this
house may have passed and sent to the other house,
and as to which that house may have resolved that
there did not remain time for their due considera-
tion in the session in which they were received;
"3. That on a resolution being moved that it is
expedient again
to pass and to send to the other