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

FRIDAY EVENING,

them also, but with the exception that a creditor's assignee
was to audit their accounts, and were to collect all debts
over £lO, they remained in the same position. Debts under
£lO were in future to be got by the official assignees. lie
believed that so stringent were the clauses of the bill, that
no person would be found to undertake the office of credi-
tor's assignee. There were, no doubt, very many valuable
provisions in this bill, but he contended that, as it was the
principal measure of the session, it ought to be much more
comprehensive.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said that when, last
year, he brought in a bill which consolidated the old law,
with various suggestions and improvements, it was said
by hon. gentlemen, " What a huge production It cannot
be understood or properly gone through." Well, the bill
he brought in this year embodied all that was new in the
old ; and: though it did not contain any portion, of the old
law, yet it incorporated every suggestion involving the
alterations contained in the measure of last year. But inas_
much as ho did in the last session say, with unnecessary
candour, that it could not be read or thoroughly understood,
and therefore not properly discussed, ho thought it better
to insure its passing this session, by carefully extracting
from that measure all that was new, and so far from its
being less valuable, though not so voluminous, in his opi-
nion it was of greater value. (Hear.) At all events, if it
were not so, all he could say was, that ho had thrown away
weeks and months of labour in vain. (Hear.) He did not
complain of the course pursued by the hon. and learned
member for Sheffield. The objections urged by the hon.
and learned members for Sheffield and Guildford were, in
fact, based upon an imperfect knowledge of the provisions
of the bill, or at best upon slender information. It had been
said, for instance, that this was an attorney's bill, but all
he could say in reply was, that the bill had the approval of
the commercial body, and of none more than the consti-
tuency represented by the hon. and learned gentleman. It
was true that the custody and control of funds were en-
trusted to solicitors, under the superintendence of the offi-
cial assignees; but it was at the same time placed under
such regulations as would ensure the prompt payment into
the bank and the speedy distribution among the creditors
of the assets when collected. He would admit that there
were many parts of the bill which could be amended, and
when they got into committee he would invite the most
full and free discussion on the part of his hon. and learned
friends on both sides of the house, as well as of the mem-
bers connected with commerce. His great object was to
make the measure as effective as possible, and at the same
time to pass it without any unnecessary delay. He trusted
the house would agree to the second reading, and proceed
with the bill in detail as early as possible.
The bill was then read a second time, and ordered to be
committed on Monday next.
BANK OF ENGLAND PAYMENT BILL.
This bill was read a second time.
PAROCHIAL ASSESSMENTS BILL.
This bill was also read a sead a second time.
RED SEA. AND INDIA TELEGRAPH COM-
PANY BILL.

On the motion for the second reading of this bill,

Mr. %VYLD said he understood it was the intention of
the Chancellor of the Exchequer to refer it to a select com-
mittee. He could not understand why that course should
be taken, but he hoped that if it were so referred the select
committee would have power to investigate all the facts
connected with the contract. If he was rightly informed,
the company meant, after saddling the country with a bur-
den equivalent to the interest of a million of Consols for 50
years, to abandon the undertaking altogether, and leave
their cables in the sea, useless either to this country or
India.

Mr. CONINGHAM said he was not prepared to agree
to the line proposed for the Red Sea Telegraph; and it
would be monstrous to call upon the public to pay their
money for such a scheme. The country ought not to be
exposed to lose £Boo,oooby this scheme, which was marked
with fraud ; and he (Mr. Coningham) would, for one, if he
even stood alone, divide the house on the question.

Mr. CRAWFORD said his hon. friend (Mr. Coning-
ham) had stated that Mr. Gisborne had failed in his pre-
vious efforts ; but his hon. friend was not, in his opinion,
justified, however that might be, in his place in Parlia-
ment, in branding Mr. Gisborne with fraud. (Hear, hear.)
If his hon. friend thought so, he ought to rise and state in
a straightforward way what the nature of the imputed
fraud was. With respect to the failure of the Red Sea
Telegraph, he did not think that they would be able, by
aty inquiry, to ascertain it satisfactorily. In his opinion,
the science connected with the laying of deep-sea tele.,
graphs was not sufficiently developed when the Rea Sea
Telegraph was laid down as to ensure its success.
Mr. DISRAELI said it was desirable to shorten discus-
sions of this kind. With regard to what had taken place,
nothing he might say was ever better known than the terms
upon which the late Government entered into the contract,
and he believed the hen. gentleman who had just addressed
the house was well aware of that. But he (Mr. Disraeli)
could say from his own experience that nothing was better
known to the members of this house than the impending
contract, and nothing was more known to the members of
the city of London or to the public. And although he
should not now touch upon the highebt, or rather the
lowest depths of hypocrisy that marked some men's pro-
ceedings in the matter, still he must say now that this con-
tract was gone into with the full knowledge of the members
of the city of London. And looking at what had taken
place in India, had that contract not been entered into, it
was the intention of the late Government to have decided
that the contract would be taken up by the Government on
the part of the country, and he thought it was the duty of
any Government to carry such a proposition into effect.
(Hear, hear.)

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER was sorry
that the right hon. gentleman had by his observations
somewhat widened the sphere of the discussion. He would
not follow him in all his observations, but he might say
that the Government were, in his opinion, in the present
stage of the proceedings warranted in stepping in and
taking the matter up. He would not now enter into a dis-
cussion of what the expenditure had been, or what it might
be; but he must say that much depended upon their keep-
ing perfect faith with the public and the company, and
their intention was to give effect as far as could be to the
contract. All these matters were legitimate subjects for
the cognisance of Parliament, but were entirely apart from
the consideration before them. Those persons who had in-
vested their money in this undertaking were not only entirely
dependent on the house giving effect to the arrangement that
had been made, but on their doing it with the utmost pos-
sible despatch. To mix this up with larger questions
would create the utmost possible dissatisfaction out of
doors, and would raise a suspicion that Parliament was
seeking for some occasion to elude the fulfilment of the
contract. Ile trusted that the bill would be allowed to
pass the second reading without a division. In principle
be entirely agreed with the remarks of Mr. Ayrton. If it
were thought desirable to examine into the matter to which
he had called attention, there was no indisposition on the
part of the Government to initiate or to promote that
examination. They ought to wait until they appointed a
committee. He did not agree with Mr. Disraeli that no
measure had been better understood by the members of the
house than the bill of ISSB.
The bill was then read a second time, and was ordered
to be referred to a select committee.
CONSOLIDATION OF THE CRIMINAL STATUTE