The Sun.
London, England, 1868-03-10 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT

HOUSE OF LORDS—LAsT EVENING.

The LORD CHANCELLOR took his s'at on the Woolsack
at five o'clock.

RATE PAYING CLAUSES.

The Duke of ARGYLL wished to inform the
noble earl the Lord Privy Seal that he should
give notice that on Friday next ho should
call the attention of the house to the inconveniences of the
rate-paying clauses of the Reform Act of 1867, and should
at the same time make some observations as to the re-
marks which had been published of the First Minister of
the Crown on the question of reform.
THE LAW IN BANKRUPTCY.

The LORD CHANCELLOR said that he should lay
upon the table a series of bills affecting the improvement
and consolidation of the law of bankruptcy. He thought
it would be best at first to lay these upon the table for the
consideration of their lordships. The noble lord then
moved the first reading of the bill, which was carried.

ECCLESIASTICAL REFORM.
The LORD CHANCELLOR moved and carried the
first reading of a bill for validating certain orders in Coun-
cil relating to ecclesiastical matters.
IRISH RAILWAYS.

The Marquis of CLANRICARDE moved for a copy of
the instructions issued to the Commissioners ap-
pointed to inquire into the state and value of the railways
of Ireland. Ile said that the Irish bad an idea
that both the Government and people of this country had
no sincere desire to promote the inteiost and welfare of
the financial or commercial people of Ireland, and there-
fore he trusted that her Majesty's Government would fur-
nish these reports, which would tend to destroy
that obnoxious feeling. Ireland being a much weaker
country than this, they naturally suffered more
from monopoly than this country. Ho considered
that this monopoly, unchecked as it was, had caused a
grievous loss to the country. The monopolists combined
for their own benefit, and the transport of goods was really
more expensive than it would have been if there was only
a single line. In addition to this, the formation and
creation of railways had come to a complete stop, and what
was considered to be the greatest feature of a civi-
lised country had ceased entirely to exist in Ireland. He
therefore contended that this system of monopolies ought
to be inquired into as much as anything else connected
with railways.

The Duke of RICHMOND said that he should refrain
from the discussion of the policy in railways in Ireland.
Last year the matter was looked into by a committee, and
it was settled that the value of the railways in Ireland
should be thoroughly investigated into. A commis-
sion was accordingly issued to look into this
question, but be did not think that what the noble mar-
quis alluded to would come within the scope of the com-
mission. The commission would report very shortly after
Easter, and he had no doubt that the commission would
submit, if the noble lord wished it, a copy of the weekly
agreement of the different railways. Ile must object, how-
ever, to the production on the table of the returns asked
for.

miTtthede.Public Departments (Extra Receipts) Bill was cora-

BALLAST IRON IN THE ROYAL DOCKYARDS.
The Duke of SOMERSET moved for a return relative
to iron ballast sold from the Royal Dockyards. He stated
that for the satisfaction of thoso who might make
complaints against Admiralty management that
it was most desirable that their lordships should have
these returns.

It was stated that the returns would be furnished with-
out opposition.

- -
REGISTRATION OF WRITS (SCOTLAND) BILL,
This bill was committed.
The house then adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMAIONS—LAST EVENING.
The SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock.
NEW MEMBER.

Mr. WARD RUNT, the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
took the oath and his seat for Northamptonshire, Northern
Division. _ _

THE CLERICEN WELL EXPLOSION.

asthehaCdhief Commissioner of
Mr. H. LEWIS asked the SecretabreyenofpuSbtlaictelyfsotrattehde,
eitherHm o e Department
the
Government whether,
o r
Police had information, previously to the commission of
the crime, of a design to blow up, or otherwise attack
Clerkenwell Prison; and, if so, whether there was any
objection to state what precautionary measures or pre-
ventive measures were taken in consequence ?
Mr. HARDY said in reference to the late lamentable
occurrence which took place at the House of Detention
in December, that on the 12th of December a report was
received at the Home-office about half-past 12 at noon.
He would, without
giving the name of the person who
sent the report,
relate to the house what the in-
formation was. The report was to the folio wing
effect :—" I have to report that an attempt will
be made to effect the rescue of the prisoner
Burke by blowing down the wall with gunpowder while
t
the prisouers are in the exercise yard, and that the signal'
all is right is to bo a white ball thrown over the wall
of the said prison." Mr. Liddell, the Under-Secretary of
State, at once communicated with the Chief Commissioner
of Police, and that officer not having been at the office,
Colonel Labalmondiere was immediately informed of the
matter. Mr. Liddell also communicated with Mr. Pownall,
the chairman of the Middlesex magistrates, and as ho could
not immediately got the magistrates together, acted most
efficiently on his own responsibility by giving
directions
for the attendance of extra warders, by shifting the cells
of the prisoners, and also by giving directions that they
should take their exercise in other than the ordinary
yards. Colonel Labalmondiere was at the Home Office
at about half-past twelve the same day; but previous to his
arrival he had sent directions to Superintendent (lumen
to communicate with the Governor of the prison, Captain
Codd, of the proposed proceeding. He was also
directed to arrange for the further strengthening of
the guard on the House of Detention; and further
he was to give directions for street observations to be kept
upon the wall of the prison. In the interior of the prison
every precaution was taken, a double patrol was posted
also, with directions to keep strict observations on the
prison wall, and additional constables—viz., five in plain
clothes and three officers in uniform were posted round
the wall. Inspector Thomson was also sent to Captain
Codd with special direction; and upon that afternoon some
persons with a barrel or cask were seen in the neighbour-
hood, but it was not at all thought that such a circumstance
was at all suspicious, and that in fact a white ball was
thrown over the prison wall that day, but so little did that
seem to excite any suspicion that anything was about to
take place that one of the warders picked up the ball, put
it into his pocket, and afterwards gave it to his children at
home. When the ball came over Burke fell out of the rank
of the prisoners at exercise and appeared to knock
a steno out of his shoe, and no further
notice was taken of the circumstance. It was never sup-
posed that the gunpowder was to be used as it afterwards
was. The cask was wheeled down the street in the open
day, a light was affixed•to it, and so little was thought of
such a circumstance, that Constable Moriarty, who was on
duty near the spot, walked towards the barrel, and got
so near to it that his clothes were burned by
the explosion. It was fully expected that the blowing
up of the wall was to be effected by mining, and not at all
in the manner that was adopted.
THE BOUNDARY COMMISSION.
Mr. DILLW YN asked the Secretary of State for the
Home Department when the report of the Boundary Com-
mission, with or without the plans, would be issued to
members of the House of Commons; and whether there
would be any objection to issue it in parts, consisting of
counties and their respective boroughs.
Mr. HARDY said the report in question would, he be-
lieved, be la the hands of hon. members to-morrow.
PIRATICAL VESSELS.
Mr. TAYLOR asked the Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs whether any claim had been made upon her Ma-
jesty's Government by the Government of the United
alleged
dors during the civil war
piratical seizure in the
cf a vessel now registered as a British vessel at the port
obfytEheritaislille
of Kingston in Jamaica under the name of the Lizzie
CS ht aetseaspiena kree slrveetr
Lina, and formerly the Happy go
Lucky, commanded by
Lieutenant or Captain Edenborough ?
Lord STANLEY said he had caused search to be made
at the Foreign-office for such a matter from the year 1861
down to the present time, but not a trace of any such oc-
currence had been found. Search had also been made at
the Colonial-office, but with no different result.
REGENT'S PARK.

Mr. H. LEWIS asked whether the works now going on
for the purpose of improving the ornamental water in the
Regent's-park would be completed before the end of the
summer.
Lord J. MANNERS said he had every reason to believe
that such would be the case.
THE CHINESE EMBASSY.
Mr. OSBORNE asked the Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs if the appointment by the Chinese Government
of Mr. J. MiLeavy Brown (described in the Foreign-office
list as assistant Chinese secretary of the English embassy
in China) to the post of assistant colleague of Mr. Burlin-
game, the new Chinese ambassador, had been made with
concurrence of the English envoy and chief superintend-
ent in China, and if such appointment had received the
sanction of her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for
Foreign Affairs ; and if her Majesty's Government in-
tended to enter into negotiations with Mr. Burlingame, as
Chief Representative of the Chinese Embassy so appointed,
respecting the treaty of Tientsin ?
Lord STANLEY said the appointment had been made
with the approbation of the British Minister in China ;
and, with respect to the other part of the question
if the ambassador came properly accredited from
China, ho would of course be treated with all that respect
and attention usually given to the representatives of
foreign Powers.
FINES AND FEES (,IRELAND) BILL.
The wijuicriLl4c)ii vf tl9 FAWAYZUrdi moved the

second readingof this bill, the object of which was to enact
that the fines and fees taken in different courts in Ire-
land, amounting to about £68,000, be paid over to the
Consolidated Fund.

General DUNNE regretted to oppose, the. first public
official act of the right hon. gentleman, the Chancellor of
the Exchequer. Ile hoped the Gown.) =out would not
persevere with the measure, as it would: be looked upon
with the greatest objection in Ireland, and would, he
was afraid, tend to engender more ill-feeling against Eng-
land.

Mr. GREGORY objected to the bill, as the salaries of
he clerks of Petty sessions in Irpland was paid out of the
'mad.

The O'CONNOR .DON said if the clerics were to be paid
out of the Exchequer he could only look upon the bill as
an attempt to raise a covered loan to the amount of £68,000
on the part of England for something, which perhaps
might be the Abyssinian expedition. (Laughter.)
Mr. REARDON thought the bill a shabby ono, and that
it would be rejected by a very large majority.

The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said the Consolidated
Fund was entitled to the fund, and that it ought long ago
to have been paid over.
Sir P. O'Brien, Mr. Henley, and Mr. Lawson also op-
posed the bill.

Mr. DISRAELI said there was no doubt whatever that
the money dealt with by the bill was due to the Consolidated
Fund, and if bills of this description were to be opposed
all attempts to get the public accounts in a plain and un-
derstandable manner would certainly be useless.
Mr. CARD WELL said he should give his vote against
the bill, notwithstanding the appeal of the First Lord of
the Treasury.

The bill was negatived without a division.
SCOTO[I REFORM BILL.

On the motion for tho second reading of this bill,
Mr. HADFIELD protested earnestly against an increase
in the numbers of the house, and formally moved the re-
jection of the bill, which was seconded by Sir WILLIAM
SCOTT.

Mr. B. COCHRANE held the concession of seven mem-
bers to be very inadequate to the claims of Scotland, but
warned Scotch members that if they rejected this bill they
would get no increase at all.
Mr. SMOLLEI"2, premising that he accepted the bill
as an inevitable necessity, proceeded to discuss its provi-
sions and the question of reform generally, in one of his
amusing and caustic speeches. Illustrating his argument
by its presumed operation in Glasgow and Elinburgb, he
maintained that the bill would degrade the repi-esettia-
tion of the great town, and criticised severely the
grouping clauses, which he condemned as clumsy and
ignorantly drawn, predicting that the Radical party in
committee would so manipulate them that the Conser-
vative interest in Scotland would not for the future
return more than ono or two members. After sketching
a portentous picture of the House of Commons of the fu-
ture—a compound of elderly landowners, rich traders,
working men, union delegates, and Fenian sympathisers,
which would very soon be found amenable to corrupt in-
fluences—he wound up by an emphat'c declaration that,
nevertheless, ho had no fear for the safety and invulner-
ability of the British constitution.
Mr. M'LAREN criticised the details of the bill with
much minuteness, condemning the rating clauses, and
showing that they would operate in a disfranchising sense
He urged the necessity of providing against the creation
of fagot votes, and, in a lengthy and elaborate analysis of
the population and taxation returns, he sketched a scheme
of redistribution which, he contended, was more consistent
with justice to Scotland.
Mr. M‘LAGAN expressed great disappointment with
the distribution scheme. A great opportunity had been
lost for rearranging the borough representation, which
might include a grouping of the small counties. Neverthe-
less he urged his Scotch colleagues not to refuse this offer,
and warned them that it would be found impossible to dis-
turb the arrangement of last session.
Colonel Sykes, Mr. Graham, and Mr. Crum-Ewing de-
precated opposition to the second reading, and in answer
to Mr. Moncrieff, Sir James Fergusson intimated that the
Government had never insisted that the additional mem-
bers would be seven, and no more. It would be for
members who thought that particular constituencies
required additional representation to make out their case.
After some general observations from Mr. BEARDEN
and Mr. GRIFFITH,
Mr. LAING asserted that though the old Whigs op-
posed the bill because they thought its defeat would em-
barrass the Government and retain the Scotch vote on
their side at the next election, and through the extreme
Radicals, more partisan than national in their feeling, op-
posed it, desiring to keep the question of Redistribution
open, yet the real independent and moderate Liberals of
Scotland were disposed to accept the bill on the con-
dition that ton additional members should be given to
Scotian 1, that the distribution scheme were amended, and
that the creation of fagot votes should be prevented. He
advised the Government, therefore, to consider, between
this and the next stage, the propriety of making their
concessions. These remarks provoked a strong protest
from _ _

Mr. ELLICE (supported by ➢ir. KENNARD and Mr.
CE.AUFURD), who maintained that the state of opinion in
Scotland was diametrically opposed to Mr. Laing's view
of it. The Scotch members would not be bribed to ac-
cept some of the evils contained in the bill by any in-
crease in their numbers. He had every desire to settle
the question at once, and was ready to accept whatever
Parliament thought just to Scotland, but rather than take
the bill as it stood he would wait till the new Parliament.

The LORD ADVOCATE, in winding up the debate,
explained the rating clauses, and, while intimating that
both the amount of increase and the mode of distribution
were matters for commitoe, he pointed out to those who
demanded 25 members that 12 at least on their principles
would have to be taken from Ireland—a suggestion which
nobody had been bold enough to make yet. The group-
ing scheme, he showed, was on the same principle as that
of 1832.

Mr. HADFIELD withdrew ilia amendment, and the bil
was read a second time.

The Sea Fisheries Bill passed through committee.
The Railways (Extension of Time) Bill was read a third
time and passed.

Tho Metropolis Subways Bill was read a second time.
The LORD ADVOCATE brought in bills to improve
the system of registration of writs, the procedure in re-
gard to ecclesiastical buildings and glebes, and for the
consolidation of titles to land in Scotland.
Sir W. HUTT re-introduced his bill for the better credit
of railway accounts.

Sir S. NORTIICOTE brought in a bill to enable gua.
ranteed Indian railway companies to raiso money on do•
beuturo stock.

The House adjourned at twenty-five minutes before
twelve o'clock.

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE—This Day.

GRAVESEND, Tuesday Morning.
Arrived, March 9—Lord J. Russell, steamer, from Dun-
kirk ; Eliza Reid, from St. Michael's ; Alpine Crag, from
Kustendji ; Stirling, from Smyrna; Banff, from Licata;
Adele, from Girgenti ; Fort Regent, from Manilla ; Regina,
from Caen ; Uncline, from Alexandria ; Princess Royal,
from Villavicosa ; Aurora, frcm Carolinen.siel ; Louisa,
from Wilmington ; Excelsior, from Cochin.
Arrived, March 10—Torbay Lass, from Trieste; Isa-
bella, from St. Michael's; Julia, Trial, Mary Ann, and
London— all from Guernsey ; Rivoli, from Cardenas ;
Eleanor and Jabia, both from Caen ; Titania, from Rouen ;
Josephine, from Lisbon; Flecha, steamer, from Ghent;
Fyenoord, steamer, from Rotterdam; Druid, steamer, from
Gibraltar; John Bull, steamer, from Havre ;
steamer, from Ostend.

Sailed, March 9—Volasquez, steamer, for Malaga
Vigilant, steamer, for Calais.

DEAL, Tuesday Morning.
Passed—Anglo-Indian, ship, from London, for Bombay;
Priscilla, brig, from Palma, for Loudon.
Most of the outward-bound are weighing for the west-
ward.

WRECK OFF THE NORFOLK COAST.—CAISTER,
NEAR GREAT YARMOUTH, Monday. Yesterday
afternoon a heavy gale of wind sprung up from the west,
with driving snow and sleet. About six o'clock
a vessel was seen on the Scroby Sand, and
the Birmingham lifeboat of the National Lifeboat
Institution was therefore at once launched, and proceeded
off to her. A steam-tug also went out from Yarmouth to
her assistance, as it was hoped she might be got off the sand
There was, however, a heavy sea breaking there, and the
vessel, which was the barque Sparkling Wave, of Sunder-
land, laden with coals, has been lost. The crew are for-
tunately safe, having been rescued by means of the life •
boat.
EXPORTS OF MACHINERY.—During the past year
the foreign and colonial demand for British steam engines
was tolerably good, the value of the exports in the 11
months ending November 30 being £1,829,578, as com-
pared with £1,611,442, to the corresponding date of ]866,
and £1,797,435 in the first 11 months of 1865. It is worthy
of note that a decrease, instead of an increase, would have
been observed in the demand for British steam engines last
year but for the very large deliveries of locomotives to the
Indian railway companies. Thus, the value of the steam
engines sent to British India to November last year was
no less than £857,627, as compared with £4.)7,987 in the
corresponding period of 1866, and £271,298 to the corre-
sponding date of 1865. The exports of other British ma-
chinery remained about stationary last year, having at-
tained a total of £2,781,928 to November 30, as against
£2,785,908 in the first 11 months of 1866, and £3,015,219
to the corresponding date of 1815. In the ten years end-
ing 1866 inclusive the value of the steam engines exported
from the United Kingdom was as follows : 1857, £1,069,21.9;
188, £1,007,278; 1859, £973,340 ; 1860, £1,238,333 ; 1861,
£1,258,164; 1862, £1,624,876 ; 1863, £1,592,036 ; 1864,
£1,617,117 ; 1865, £1,958,533 ; and 1866, £1,7W,492. The
whole of the exports of other machinery during the same
period is subjoined: -1857, £2,814,420; 1858, £2,502,074 ;
1859, £2,757,961; 1860, £2,599,488 ; 1861, £2,955,506 ;
1862, £2,467,797 ; 1863, £2,772,976 ; 1864, £3,231,475
1865, £3,264,100; and 0667 £21901692.