The Sun.
London, England, 1861-02-09 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS.-(YESTERDAY.)

The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack
at five o'clock.

THE REPLY TO THE ADDRESS,

The LORD CHANCELLOR read her Majesty's reply
to their lordships' address on the occasion of the opening
of Parliament.

GRAND JURIES.

Lord CHELMSFORD brought in a bill for the better
regulation of grand juries.
The bill was read a first time.
MR. BRIGHT'S SPEECH.

The Marquis of NORMA NBY was about to draw the
attention of the house to a recent speech delivered by Mr.
Bright, in which certain erroneous statements were made,
with a view of correcting them.
Earl GRANVILLE said he thought the course about to
be pursued by the noble marquis was quite irregular.
Earl GREY strongly deprecated the course of raising a
discussion upon the matter. He considered the noble mar-
quis was quite in the wrong.
The subject then dropped.
CHURCH SATES.
A number of petitions were presented against the aboli-
tion of Church Rates. -
PUBLIC BUSINESS.

Earl GRANVILLE rose to move the appointment of a
select committee on the public business of the house, with
a view to ascertain whether any improvement could be made
in conducting it. Their lordships were very much in the
position of a man who complained to his doetor that he felt so
very empty before dinner and so very full after. The difficulty
was, that in consequence of the arrangement by which so
many measures were obliged to be originated so very late
in the other house, the house of Lords had very little
bigness to perform in the early part of the ses-
sion, but it was perfectly inundated with measures as it
drew towards a close. He thought the evil could easily be
pointed out, but he did not think the remedy could so easily
be discovered. It had been proposed that a joint committee
of both houses should be arranged, but he preferred that
their lordships should appoint their committee as the
House of Commons had already appointed one on the same
subject.

The Earl of DERBY said the difficulty of dealing with
the business in their lordships' house differed ♦ery widely
from that in the House of Commons. The Commons had
a very wide range for inquiry, while in their own case the
only difficulty that arose was from the glut of business that
had to be transacted just at the close of the session.
Taking the Bankruptcy Bill, he thought if such a bill was
brought up in July, it might be considered as a matter of
urgency, but it would be very impolitic to force such a bill
through at such a period, when it was clear it would not
receive theattention it deserved. The practice of moving
motions of urgency was one greatly to be deprecated.
Lord REDESDALE said the way to facilitate the busi-
ness in their lordships', house was to expedite it in the Com-
mons. A practice existed in the other house of raising
long and irrelevant discussions upon motions for going
into committees of supply, which greatly impeded business,
and if that was put an end to great improvement would
follow as a natural result.

The LORD CHANCELLOR thought, although a joint
committee could not be appointed, yet from the circum-
stance that a committee on this subject had been appointed
in the other house, their lordships would be kept well in-
formed of the prOceedings of that committee.
Earl GREY agreed that the principal difficulty was in
the House of Commons, and that what was chiefly required
was to discover some mode of having bills sent up earlier
in the session. The evil of the present state of things was
far greater than was commonly supposed ; and, unless some
efficient means could be found to make legislation more
easy, great discredit would be thrown upon our whole par-
liamentary system. He was convinced that the sums of
money which had been wasted for want of some consistent
amt steady policy with regard to railways might be reckoned
not by thousands but by millions. That was a subject which
no less than the public business demanded their attention.

After a few words from the Marquis of NORMASBY, the
motion was then agreed to.
THE ARMY IN CHINA.

Lord HERBERT of LEA gave notice that, on Thurs-
day next, he should propose a vote of thanks to the officers
and soldiers engaged in the recent operations in China.

THE SUFFRAGE IN ITALY.

The Marquis of NORMANBY said he would take an-
other :opportunity of calling attention to the statement,
wherever it had been made, that the constituency for the
elections which had just taken place in North Italy had
been as free as possible, thereby implying universal suf-
frage. So far from that being the case, the number of
electors in proportion to the population was inilaitely smal-
ler than in any borough or county iu England.
Their lordships then adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—(YESTERDAY.)
The SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock.
NEW MEMBERS.

Mr. HEYGATE took the oaths and his seat on his
election for Leicester, and Captain CLIVE for Ludlow.
PRIVATE BUSINESS.

The standing orders were reported to have been com-
plied with in the case of several railway and other private
bills. Some private bills wee also read a first time.

PETITIONS.

Several petitions were presented in favour of an amend-
ment of the law relating to church-rates, and also against
their abolition, from the wine merchants of the city of
London for the imposition of a uniform duty on all foreign
wines imported into this country, instead of a duty accord-
ing to their alcoholic strength.
HOPS, &c.
_ _

On the motion of Mr. LOCKE, several returns on this
subject were ordered.
THE FRANCHISE.

Mr. BAINES gave notice that on Tuesday next he
would move for leave to bring in a bill for the extension of
the suffrage in England and Wales.

THE INDIAN LOAN.

In reply to Colonel SYLES,
Sir C. WOOD said that he had succeeded in obtaining
the £3,000,000 loan for the purposes of India. £13,000,000
had been offered, £6,000,000 at the minimum rate of inte
rest, but he had succeeded in raising the amount he required
below that rate.