The Sun.
London, England, 1868-07-21 00:00:00

BILL.

Mr. FOSTER asked whether there was any truth in
the rumour that the Government intended to take stsps to
remove a clause from the bill which had been carried on
Saturday with respect to election expenses being charged
on the rates.

Mr. DISRAELI said the'question was quite unparlia

mentary, and therefore he declined to give an answer.
Mr. GLADSTONE asked whet'ior, supposing it was
intended to introduce any material eliang3 in the bill as it
at pros nt stood, duo notieo would be given of the altera-
tion ?

Mr. DISRAELI (mid he had done nothinr, since he had

been in his present position that could justify the suppo--
sition that he would do anything that would take the

House by surprise. (Hear, hoar.) lie should propose
nothing without giving full and adequate notice.

LORD NAPIER.

The answer of Lord Napior to the vote of thanks of the

House was then read by the SPEAKER. It expressed deep
thanks for the honour conferred upon all concerned in the
late expedition. '

REGISTRATION (IRELAND) BILL.
On the motion that the house go into committee on this
bill,

Sir C. O'LOGHLEN expressed his surprise that tho bill
should be proceeded with, when it had been thought by
the Irish members that no further stops would be taken
during the present session.

Mr. SYRIAN also expressed his surprise that the mea-
sure should be brought forward at the present moment.
He could only characterise it as a dodge, and an attack
from a masked battery. He appealed to the Government
not to persevere with the bill at that period of the session.
Mr. VANCE thought the bill necessary to enable the
coming elections to be conducted without the presence of
the military. He thought the fact of giving increased
polling places was a great advantage.

Sir G. BOWYER was against giving the Irish magis-
tracy the power of establishing polling places, and he
much regretted that such a provision was in the
bill. He hoped the Government would give up that
part of the measure. Ile never thought there was
anything in the bill, other than that of providing
for the Irish elections being taken at the same time as the
English. Many Irish members had left London under the
impression that nothing of the kind was intended, there-
fore he hoped the Government would give up that portion
of the bill with respect to polling places.

Col. GRE VILLE said the bill proposed to be a regis-
tration bill, - but it now turned out that great
changes were intended with regard to polling
places. Ile thought they had a right to know
why the two subjects had been mixed up in ono
bill. No alteration had been made in the county franchise,
and he wanted to know why it was proposed to alter the
polling places in Ireland under such circumstances, the
more so as they had made no addition to the number of
electors.

The Earl of MAYO said there was an absolute neces-
sity for the clauses in the bill. As the law stood with
respect to polling places in Ireland some improvement was
imperatively necessary. The greatest convenience would
result front the alterations made, as the magistracy would
be enabled to give facilities for establishing an increased
number of polling places, which could not but result in
general convenience. He was a tonished that any person
could get up in that house and oppose the bill, as the
alterations had been made for the convenience of electors,
and certainly not for party purposes. At present voters in
some places had to take a journey of 27 miles across a
mountain to record their votes. That, he thought, highly
objectionable, and !t was to remedy such inconvenience
that the bill was brought forward.
Mr. LAWSON said the whole object of the bill was to
throw the coming elections into the hands of the Lord
Lieutenant of Ireland.

Tho conflict was renewed in committee, and prolonged
until close upon nine o'clock, but ultimately the first clause
of this part of the bill—clause thirty-four—was nega-
tived by a majority of 10-81 to 71. Upon this Lord
Mayo withdrew the other clauses, throwing on the Oppo-
sition the responsibility of the bloodshed which might
occur at the next election for want of these additional
polling places— a burden which Mr. C. Fortescue readily
accepted, believing that there would be no disturbance
unless the Irish landlords took some violent means to
support Protestant ascendancy by Roman Catholic votes.
The house then went into committee on the Metropo-
litan Foreign Cattle Market Bill, but it was nearly two
hours before the preliminary question "that the preamble
be postponed" was disposed of. Mr. Crawford appealed
to the Premier to drop the bill, seeing that there was no
chance of passing it this year, and Mr. Ileadlam made a
similar appeal, but Mr. Disraeli declined, and urged the
houso, after the full discussion the principle of the bill had
undergone, to deal now practically with the clauses.

In the animated, and at times acrimonious, discussion
which followed, the arguments against the principle of the
measure were urged for the fourth or fifth time by Mr.
Ayrton, Mr. Melly, Mr. Candlish, Mr. W. E. Forster, and
others, and imputations were freely thrown out that its
supporters were striving to return to the old protective
system, and that the Government was obstinately per-
sisting with it for mere electioneering purposes—to go to
the country with the reputation of " farmers' friends." On
the other hand, Mr. Henley, Mr. Kendal, Colonel North,
Mr. R. W. Duff, and others charged the Opposition with
"factious obstruction," and, treating the question asa con-
flict between {'town and country," exhorted the Govern-
anent not to allow the bill to be talked down by the metro-
politan members, but to keep Parliament sitting until it
Wile passed.