The Sun.
London, England, 1850-07-25 00:00:00

SUPPLY.

The House then resolved itself int.) a Committee of
Supply.
Before the vote was taken fur the Contract Packet
Service,
Lord NAAS rose to move that an humble a' dress be
presented to her Majesty, praying that she will be gra-
ciously pleased to order such measures to be taken
as will ensure the immediate establishment of re-
gular steam communication with her Australian colonies.
The Noble Lord proceeded to call the attention of the
House to the delay and uncertainty which arose in the
transmission of intelligence from the Australian colonies
to this country, and to the fact that the members of the
Government wee e frequently indebi ed to the colonial news-
papers for important information which reached this coun-
try before their own official dispatches from those colonies.
During last year on one occasion four or five months
had elapsed without any communication between this
country and the Australian colonies. In the year
1847 the average length of the passage
was 121 days, and in 1848 it was 119 days.
From this it would be seen that the ordinary time for
conveying letters and conaniunicat ions from this country
to Sydney varied from 120 to 130 days; but if the plan
which he was about to propose now sere adopted, or some-
thing like it, the passage would be reduced to 70 days.
Three routes had been suggested fur this steam commu-
nication. First, the western route by Panama, a dis-
stanee of 13,600 miles ; second, the southern route by
the Cape of Good Hope, a distance of 13,630 ; and,
thirdly, the eastern route by Singapore, a distance of
12,099 milee. The first route, however, although the
shortest, was objectionable on account of the want of
trade on the Pacific, and the difficult sea voyage
between Singapore and Australia. The second
route, in his opinion, was decidedly the
best, as it would include many intermediate
ports and places of importance, and would be the best
adapted fur the purposes of emigration. The third route
by Singapore would take in the present overland mail to
India, and it had this advantage over the others,
that it placed India in direct communication with
Australia,
not
thissee part, as
bothas this
.
sea part of the, passage would have to be performed
byscrew stebaunaters, reallyhe could for
and the Cape route could not be adopted together.
The Legisla,ure of New South Wales had voted
some 6,0001 towards carrying out that scheme
of postal transmission between that country and
England, and calculated that the revenue
which would be derived from such transmission
would amount to 20,000/. Van Diemen's Land was also
ready to unite in the same object, and in the full confi-
dence cf the great benefit which would result to that
colony and the mother country, and so likewise in re-
spect of the other colonies. A quicker and more
regular communication with England, would reven'
the markets of the colonies being overstocked
with commodities, which was one of the greatest
evils to which they could be subject. He . thought
it quite clear that the greatest advantages would
result to this country as well as to the celonies in
a commercial pcint of view, if the regular and rapid
steam communication which he proposed was estab-
lished.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he
should be obliged to oppose the notion of the Noble
Lord, but he presumed .his object had been effected in
calling the attention of the House to the subject. The
House was well aware that he was as desirous
ass any one to effect a rapid. ;and regular
communication with the colonies, and he only regretted
that he would not be able before the end of the session
to announce that some definite arangement had been
made to accomplish that object.
(LEFT SITTING.)

INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION of 1851.
The following is the statement of reasons giveniby the
Attorney-General in justification of his refusal to sanc-
tion the proposed application for an injunction:—
" I have in this matter a duty of a judicial nature to
perform. The object of the information is to call in
question the exercise of the discretion of the Woods
and Forests in the management of a part of the pro-
perty of the Crown. The information states that what
the Commissioners of Woods and Forests are about to
do is illegal, and injurious to the public. The informa-
tion states no facts which, in my opinion, establish either
of these propositions. But eveu if there were a question
as to the legality, the Attorney-General is bound to
judge whether it is for the interest of the public to liti-
gate the question. Cases may be conceived, and indeed
not unfre quently arise, in which the letter of the law
has be-n violated, and in which the court has, neverthe-
less, required the Attorney-General to consider whether
he would allow an information to proceed complaining of
such violation, even where tho Attorney-General had
already in his discretion allowed the information to be
filed, and where, it the information had proceeded, the
court could Lave done no other than enforce the strict
right. The discretion of the Attorney-General is inter-
posed to prevent this mischief; and his exercise of that
discretion is purely an exercise of a judicial function,
and as such I have exercised it to the best of my ability.
" In the present case the sense of what is for the
interest of the public, with relation to what the Com-
missioners of Woods and Forests propose to do, has
been unequivocally expressed by a vote of the House of
Commons. It would,
in my opinion, be an improper
measure on the part of the Attorney-General if, in the
exercise of his discretion, and acting on behalf of the