The Sun.
London, England, 1868-07-27 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT

HOUSE OF COMMONS-SATURDAY.

The SPEAKER took the chair at 12 o'clock.
The first business was the formal withdrawal of the
Metropolitan Foreign Cattle Market Bill, of which notice
had been given a few hours before. The discharge of the
order led to a short conversation, in which the natural re-
gret was expressed on one side and exult,►tion on the
other.

Mr. AYRTON'S self-congratulation took the ironical
tone of an eulogy on the forms of the housf, which hall
enabled a minority to assert the cause of justice and reason
against a majority.

Mr. Cowan, Mr. Norwood, and Mr. J. S. Mill, who also
rejoiced at the withdrawal of the bill, agreed that a jo"
dicious code of Privy Council Orders would meet the evil.

Mr. READ, who took occosion to disclaim the honour
so often attributed to him in the debates, of being the
father of the bill, admitted that the Government, under
the circumstances, hail little option but to withdraw it.
Mr. KENDALL protested against the Protectionist
theories imputed to the supporters of the bill ; their sole
desire was to keep out disease. Mr. Newdegatte, Colonel.
North, and Mr. Lowther and other supporters of the bill,
also spoke in the same sense ; but its Irish supporters, by
their strong language, seemed to take its failure much
more to heart.

Gem ral DUNNE broadly maintained that the Govern-
ment could have passed it had they been in earnest, and
Mr. Blake asserted that be knew of capitalists in the city
who would gladly have taken on themselves the financial
respou sibility.
The CHANCELLOR of the -EXCHEQUER defended
the decision of the Government, who, he maintained, bad
done all in their power to pass at, bill, and had only
yielded to pertinacious opposition and insuperable difficul-
ties. The capitalists of whom Mr. Blake had spoken were
not willing to undertake the compensations.
After some remarks from Colonel SYKES and Lord D.
MONTAGU the bill was withdrawn.

Tho Regulation of Railways Biil was read a third time
and passed, but before attaining this final stage several
new clauses were considered and disposed of. The only
one of general importance, which obtained the assent of
the house, was a clause moved by Mr. H. B. Sheridan,
compelling railway companies to provide in every train
smoking compartments for each class of passengers. it
was opposed by Mr. Laing, Mr. Leeman, and others of the
" railway director interest. The Government, repre-
sented by Colonel W. Patten, the Attorney-General, and
Mr. S. Cave, did not give it much support, recommending
that it should be left to the Companies gradually to adapt
themselves to public convenience ; and Mr. Cave promised
that if this time next year they had not profited by the re-
spite, he would support compulsion.
This compromise was not satisfactory to members who
either confessed to be breakers of the law themselves, or
who bad suffered inconvenience from its infraction by
others. Mr. Neate, Lord C. Hamilton, Captain Stack-
poole, Mr. D. Griffith, and Mr. Ald"rman Lusk supported
the clause, and its only opponent among the independent
members was Mr. Leveson-Gower, whese singular expe-
rience (confined to first-class travelling) was that no lady
or non-smoker experienced annoyance from the present
system. On a divison the clause was carried by 38 to 16'
It was afterwards modified, on the suggestion of Mr. 1%,;
Beaumont and Sir C. O'Loghlon, to meet the case of sno"'
cross-country lines by giving the Board of Trade a poWer
of exemption.
A very elaborate set of clauses was proposed by' 111.:
Leeman to limit the liability of railway companies unclieci
Lord Campbell's Act. They proposed that £4OO ab°ll'
bo the maximum compensation recoverable by a first-clan'
£3OO by a second-class, and £2OO by a third-class pas-
senger, and the scheme included a complete scale of
surances to be effected by passengers with the rani/4
companies. Meeting, however, with but little encourage-
ment, he did not press them.
Some other bills were forwarded a stage, and the 1011°
adjourned at a quarter to three o'clock.