The Sun.
London, England, 1868-03-24 00:00:00

PRIVATE BUSIL,

The Bodmin and Wadbridge Railway 2ill and the Vale
of Towy Railway Bill were read a third time.'airs (Ire-
land) Bill was read a second time.

COMPLETLNG• THE OFFICES IN DOWNING•

STREET.

Lord REDESDALE would ask what arrangements had
been made with regard to the spaces which were now un-
occupied in Downing-street and the neighbourhood of
King-street, Westminster, and the Foreign and India
Offices. Ho considered tint it would be impossible to
bring these buildings in connection without blocking up
Downing-street, and making a passage under an archway
between them. Ire would now ask whether any plans
had been drawn up, and what.course was likely to be pur-
sued. Ho should like to know as speedily as possible what
new buildings were to be erected on the vacant sites. It

was rather hard upon the persons occupying thJ houses
which were to be pulled down.

The Earl of MALMESBURY said that the spot be-
tween the Foreign and Culouial Office wag ti be built
upon. Parliament-street would be widened at the point
01 Dean-street. The ground between Charles-street and
St. Margaret's Church would be carried on in a uniform
line. With regard to the frontage of the Privy Council
Office, nothing bad been decided as to what should be
done with the ground between that and the Horse Guards.
After a few remarks from Lord REDESD A.LE as to
the folly of expending money by driblets, th 3 subject
dropped. _

EDUCATION.
The LORD PRESIDENT said that ho rose to bring
before their lordships the important subject which he
trusted would occupy their utmost consideration. It was a
subject mentioned in her Majesty's Speech, and was one
which ought to be most tenderly handled. It wts that of
general education. If in this matter they were to make a
false step it would be doing an irrefragable injury to a
large portion of her Majesty's subjects. It was a question
on which the hatchet of political discord might well be
buried, and one that both sides of the house might be united
on. It was the education of this country on which they
might take a wide and general view. There was another
point which he would call their attention tc : they were
beginning for the first time to legislate upon this great
question ; they were not dealing with a desert
field, but upon a question which bad already been
dealt with, and which they should review in all its bear-
ings. He must dwell at some time upon what was
the present state of education in this country.
He would call their attention to the report of
the Royal Commission of 1861. (Hear.) He was
urprised that no more attention had been called to this
report than there had been, for it was a most elaborate
report. The report of the commission found that under a
voluntary system the child out of every seven or eight
went to shool, while in Prussia under the compulsory
system one in six went to school. From the
year 1803 it appeared that the desire of educatiim had in-
creased in a very large ratio in this country. From these
facts ho would contend that the educational requirements
of this country were not so great as had been represented
The noble duke then entered into a statistical account of
the large returns of those who attended the Church of
England schools. He would take four particular
counties. He would take that of Berkshire first,
an agricultural country the increase there was
very large. In Chester, partially manufacturing
and partially agricultural, an increase also. It
Lancashire it was similar, &c. From these facts,
although education might be to some extent in this
country deficient, still it was not so deficient as to
justify the ominous statements which had been made.
[LEFT SPEAKING.]

HOUSE OF COMMONS-THIS EVENING.
The SPEAKER took the Chair at four o'clock.
STANDING ORDERS.

Ur. DODSON called the attention of the house to their
standing orders, and moved that order 131, allowing com-
petition to be a ground of locus stencil, be struck out, and
that the following new order be substituted for it:—
" It shall be competent to the referees on Private Bills, if
they think fit, to admit the proprietors of existing works
to be heard upon their petition against a Private Bill re-
lating to similar works within a town or district served by
them, on the ground of absence of public advantage."
Mr. LEMAN strongly opposed the motion, contending
that the order proposed to be struck out had worked well,
whilst the one proposed would
,be but an act of hosti-
lity against all the established railways.
Mr. CAVE supported the proposed new order.

After a few words from Mr. WATKINS, the motion
was withdrawn.

IRISH REFORII BILL.

Colonel FRENCH gave notice that in committee on this
bill he should move the reduction of the qualification from
£l2 to £B.

UNIVERSITY TEST BILL.

Mr. BOUVERIE gave notice that he intended to pos
pono the proceeding with this bill until the 13th of May.

THE BOUNDARY COMMISSION.

Mr. Sergeant GASELEE asked the First Lord of the
Trea ury, what instructions were given to the Assistant
Boundary Commissioners for the borough of Portsmouth,
and whether he had any objection to lay them upon the
table of the house, and also their report to the Boundary
Commissioners, recommending for Parliamentary elec-
tions the annexation of the town of Gosport to the borough
of Portsmouth, contrary to the wishes of both.

Mr. DISRAELI said with respect to the report of the
instruction given to the assistant bonndary commissioners
it was unnecessary to produce them as they were already
on the table. With respect to the reports of the assistant
boundary commissioner; these documents were of a con-
fidential character, and therefore they could on no account
be produced.
THE LIOENOING SYSTEM.
Mr. MARSH called the attention of the house to the
subject of those licences which restrict the trade and com-
merce of the country, with a view to their abolition,
and, in case of a financial necdssity, a transfer of the
charges to make or sell any article to a direct tax on the
article itself ; and moved, T bat, in the opinion of the house,
it was desirable that all licences injuriously affecting the in-
dustry and commerce of the country should be abolished.
The hon. gentleman said there were no less than 121 dif-
foment licences, but he did not intend to touch upon them
all, but those to which he wished to draw particular notice
were those that were very small in amount, yet very irk-
some to trade. The first was a licence to mako soap; it
was a very foolish tax, and ought at once to be repealed.
there was a tax for carrying on the business of vinegar
makers: there ought to be no such trade as a vinegar
maker, because vinegar made itself —it was merely wine
which had become sour. Then there was the licensing
for carrying on the trade of paper making, selling tea
and ,coffee, but as no tax was placed on the draper, I
lie thought the tea dealer had good reason to complain.
Tobacco also was taxed and so was the trade in wine, but
the quality of wine sold in retail over the counter was
generally very inferior, and he was till it could be got
for about 16s. a dozen. Now, he thought the license to
sell wine of that quality ought to be abolished, so that it
might be sold as free as small beer. There was a license
required to deal in sweets, to sell gold or silver, to carry
on the trade of a pawnbroker, but as the latter were liable
to take in stolen goods he thought they ought to be regis-
tered, so that they ought to become known to the police.
There was the tax on malt and beer, but the
tax ou the former was, in fact, an additional
tax on the latter. Not content with this, there was
also a tax upon the retailers of beer, so that the dealer in
this necessary article were compelled to sell the article
to the consumer at a higher price than it was worth,
in order to enable him, the retailer, to pay the
heavy taxes imposed on him. The hon. gentleman
then went on to refer to the taxes levied on private
brewers, makers of spirits, chemists using stills, hackney
carriages, and cabs, the drivers of the latter he con-
sidered a very illused body of men. The taxation
of the hackney carriages produced about £20,000,
and an additional 3 per cent. on the assessed duty
would enable the whole of the irksome licenses to
be abolished. There was a license enforced upon
auctioneers of £lO per annum, and why a man should
have to pay for the permission to carry on such
a trade as that was quite beyond his comprehension. He
thought if the licences were abolished iu most of the trades
he had mentioned, the loss would be more than replaced
by the increased consumption of the article sold.
Mr. P. URQUHART seconded the motion.
Mr. LABOUHERE rose and was

(LEFT SPEAKING.)

COURSE OF EXCHANGE—This Evening.

Amsterdam Short ... 11 18 ... 11 181
Ditto
Rotterdam — ... 11 19f ... 12 i
Antwerp — ... 25 35 ... 25 40
Brussels
Hamburgh — ... 13 91... 13 10}
Paris Short ... 25 15 ... 25 25
Ditto
Marseilles ... ... 25 32} ... 25 371
Frankfort-on-the-Main ... ... 1201 ... 1201
Vienna — ... 11 721 ... 11 771
Trieste — ... 11 75 ... 11 8U
Petersburg — ... 32/ ... a2k
Berlin ... ... 648 261 ... 6 27f
Madrid — ...1 ... 481
Cadiz
Leghorn — ... 28 7J ... 28 30
Milan...
Genoa — ... '2B 70 ... 28 90
Naples
Palermo — ... 28 70 ... '2B 90
Messina.—
Lisbon ... olf ... oli

SPECIAL CONSTABLES.—The period for which
special constables were sworn in last December, after the
alarm occasioned by the Clerkenwell outrage and explo-
sion, has in many instances expired ; the warrants of many
others will expire this day ; and others in the course of
the present month. It is not, we believe, intended by her
Majesty's Government to ask for any fresh powers, but to
rely on the ordinary powers of the City and Metropolitan
police force for the preservation of the peace. The jus-
tices in special sessions alone have the power to order
payment from time to time of such reasonable allowances
to special constables for their trouble, loss of time, and
expenses, and also order the payment of such expenses as
may have been incurred in providing staves and other
necessaries. It is understood that the justices of the
various divisions in the metropolis will meet in the course
of next week to make the orders usual in ouch cans.