The Sun.
London, England, 1850-08-01 00:00:00

SALARIES COMMITTEE.

Mr. DISRAELI wished to ask the Chairman of this
Committee why its report had not been printed yet ?
Mr. W. PATTEN said the report had been laid On the
table, but still he could not answer the question.
THE NATIONAL BALANCE SHEET.

Mr. CARDWELL wished to know if the Chancellor
of the Exchequer bad any objection to lay his balance
sheet on the table.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER had
none whatever.

THE NATIONAL LAND SCHEME.

Mr. F. O'CONNOR wished to ask the Secretary of the
Treasury an important question. A man named Somer-
ville, who called himself " A Whistler at the Plough,"
and who had bean discharged from the army for mis-
conduct, had recently published a circular; addressed to
the Manchester school, with reference to the land
scheme, in which he stated the enormous expense he had
been put to for the purpose of putting it down. The
only remuneration however he had received for all his
trouble was a sum of money which he received from the
Hon. Secretary to the Treasury for preparing a history
of the Land Scheme and the bank, for the pri-
vate use of the chairman of the committee
appointed to investigate the nature and origin
of the company. Now ho wished to ask the Right Hon.
Gentleman whether the money came from his own pocket
or from the secret service fund.

Sir G. HAY TER said although the Hon. and Learned
Gentleman bad given him no notice of the question, he
had a sufficient recollection of the circumstances to
enable him to answer. The Hon. and Learned Gentle-
man had attempted to throw discredit upon the person
to whom he raters, and whom he believed to be quite as
respectable as the Hon. and Learned Gentleman himself.
--(Cheers.) The man was never discharged from the
army, and although this had nothing to do with the
question, he maintained that Mr. Somerville purchased
his discharge from the army. It was true that he sup-
plied him with some information on the subject of the
Land Scheme, the collection of which cccupied more
time than he could afford to devote to the matter with-
out remuneration, and he certainly did remunerate him
for his trouble, not, however, as the Hon. and Learned
Gentleman had insinuated out of the Secret Ser-
vice Fund, but out of his own purse.—(Cheers.)
Mr. IIUME bore his testimony to Mr. Somerville's
good character, and that his conduct since he lelt the
army had been highly to his credit.—(Hear, hear.)
BRITISH MERCHANTS AND THE GOVERN-
MENT OF TUSCANY.

Mr. HUME asked Viscount Palmerston to state the
amount and nature of the disputed claims made upon the
Government tf Tuscany for injuries sustained by
British merchants at Leghorn.

Lord PALMERSTO—N said the claims made on the
Government of Tuscany arose out of these circumstances.
When there was a revolt at Leghorn the town was
taken by storm by an Austrian corps acting as
an auxilliary to the Grand Duke of Tuscany.
After the town had been taken resistance was
()tiered, and some of those Austrian troops entered
the houses of certain persons. Among others there was
the house of a Mr. Hall, which was forcibly entered by
an officer and a party of Austrian troops, who remained in
the house for several hours, and when wines were brought
into the house for the soldiers, The house was broken
into and plundered of everything from cellar to garret,
and the furniture was carried sway in shoulder
' loads. That was done at the houses of Mr.
Hall, and the houses of a widow ltdy, and others,
each of those houses being visibly marked as
being residences of British subjects. It was for those
losses, acting under proper legal advice, that
compensation had been demanded. The amount
of compensation originally claimed bad been very much
reduced by a communication which had taken place
Letween her Majeety's Government and the claimants,
and the total amount now claimed v► as about 1,5301.
Mr. DISRAELI suggested that inasmuch as the re-
port on public salaries could not be laid on the table
of the House without the :evidence, which had nor
yet been sprinted, that the report be printed
forthwith, and laid on the table, with the understanding
that the evidence should be forthcoming.
The SPEAKER was understood to say that that
course could not be adopted, except by an order of the
House.