The Sun.
London, England, 1850-03-16 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS, March 15.
Lord LANGDALE, in the absence of the Lord Chan-
cellor, took his seat on the Woolsack shortly after Five
o'clock.

PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS.
The Duke of ARGYLE gave notice that on Tuesday
'ext he should present a petition from Scotland, praying
that their Lordships would not give their assent to any
measure altering the constitution of parochial schools
in that country, and that he should then make some
Observations on the important subject to which the peti-
tion referred.
AFFAIRS OF GREECE.
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE wished, before the
' Noble Lord (Stanley) proceeded to put the question with
' respect to the affairs of Greece, of which he had given
notice, to pit it to the Noble Lord whether it would
tend to answer any public purpose to enter into any
discussion on the subject while negotiations were still
pending.
Lord STANLEY felt that the appeal which the
Noble Marquis had made to him had placed
him in no small difficulty. He was most anxious to
have the information he required, but he should, after
• the appeal that had been made to him, limit himself most
- strictly to the line prescribed by the Noble Marquis. The
Noble Lord then, at some length, adverted to what had
taken place in ;Greece, and to the declarations cf
• the French Minister and Lord Palmerston, that
this country had excepted the intervention of
France, and observed that it might naturally have been
expected that no time would be lost in acting on that ac-
ceptance, but so far from that being the case, on the 19th
of Feb. a courier arrived at Athens, bearing, it was said, a
private dispatch from Lord Palmerston, approving of the
conduct of Mr. Wyse, but studiously avoiding any allu-
sion to the acceptance of French mediation. News had
been received from Greece of a later date, in which
there was no indication that the blockade had
been raised except what had been said in another place
last night. He must remind the Noble Marquis that the
more conciliatory tone of the second dispatch from
Count Nesselrode was dictated in the expectation that
the acceptance of the good offices of France would be
acted on. There could be no doubt that Russia
and France expected that such would be
the case. It was not his desire to enter
at the present moment more fully into the subject, be-
cause he felt certain that it was the desire of
the Noble Marquis that the good understanding
between France, Russia, and England, should be
preserved. He would therefore satisfy himself by
merely asking the Noble Marquis the cause of the delay
that had taken place in suspending hostilities after the
mediation of France had been accepted.
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE said that the first
intimation his Noble Friend at the head of Foreign Af-
fairs bad of the intention of the French Government
to offer their mediation was on the sth of February, and
that was communicated to him in a letter from M.
Ilrouin de Lhuys, who had acknowledged that he had
not then been formally authorised to make that offer.
His Noble Friend might therefore have declined to act
on that information, but on the very same
day he wrote a letter to Mr. Wyse informing
him of the expected offer of good offices on the part of
France. Those offers were not received till some time
afterwards, and, therefore, he did not see that his Noble
Friend was to blame. Of this he was sure, that the
greatest expedition had been used in putting an end to
the state of things that had occurred in Greece.
After some observations from Lord STANLEY and
Lord BROUGHAM, the subject dropped.
COMMONS ENCLOSURE BILL.
This Bill went through Committee.
AUDIT OF RAILWAY ACCOUNTS.

This Bill was read a third time, and on the motion of
Earl GRANVILLE was ordered to be referred to a Select
Committee.

EMIGRANT SHIPS.

The Earl of iSIOUNTCASIIEL moved for returns
of the penalties imposed on owners, masters, surgeons,
&c., of emigrant *ships, for breaches of the Passengers
Act; and also for copies of statements effecting the cha-
`rector of the surgeon, superintendent, master, and
officers of the emigrant ship Sobraon, referred to in
dispatches 116 and 242, from Governor A. C. Fitzroy
to Earl Grey. He said he had obtained much informa-
tion on the subject, and from all he had ascertained, he
found that the unfortunate emigrant, from the momsnt
he quitted his home to his landing in the colony, he
bad no security for his safety or protection. He had
already detailed to the House two cases, but they were
not to suppose that they were only the exceptions, for
he could gore them a list of such. The emigrants
during a great part of their passage were supplied with
bad water and with bad food. The effect often was to
produce disease. Why not have the water filtered?
Various frauds were practised upon emigrant ships.
It had been discovered that alleged filtered water was
often nothing more than dirty Thames water. He did not
accuse the Colonial- iffice of suffering this, for it was,
doubtless, done without their knowledge. The fact, how-
ever, being known, ought to be enough of itself to put
emigrant agents on their guard. The inspectors of the
Government should receive the strictest instructions on
this subject. The Passengers' Act should be strictly en-
forced. He did not affirm that these complaints referred
to all emigrant ships, but they did apply to some of
them. The masters and officers of these ships, when
detected in improper practices, received very slight
punishment. The magistrates generally showed more
sympathy with them than with the poor passengers,
who, it disposed, seldom knew how to go about proceed-
ings for punishing these gentlemen. The proceedings
affecting the officers of the Concord proved that there
was not sufficient care taken by the emigration agent to
prevent abuses in some casts, and in others he was not
aware of the fraud. The agent could not open every
tierce of meat. He could only open one here and
there, and all the others. many of which were full of
bad men', escaped. That happened in this way—the
ship upon the return from the previous voyage often had
a number of tierces of provisions over. These were con-
ceale 1, and subsequently were placed among the fresh
stores. These often caused met tality or disease amongst
the emigrants.
Earl GREY—Would the Noble Lord state any one
ship in which the passengers had suffered mortality
from this cause?
Lord MOUNTCASHEL said he thought he had one
statement in the South Australian news.
Earl GREY said he did not want a newspaper, but
some official statement, upon the truth of which they
could rely.
Lord MOUNTCHASEL said he would read the ex-
tract. Tno Noble Lord here read the statement which
Affected Captain Pearce, of the John Munn. That was
a specimen of what often occurred on board emigrant
ships. No matter what the Noble Earl's opinion was,
the press, the public, and the House of Commons would
'compel him to see to these things, which he affirmed
were facts. Nothing should prevent him from persevering
on this subject. The Noble Earl (Earl Mountehasel)
here read some statements affecting certain surgeons on
board emigrant ships, from evidence in papers before the
House. Little or no attention had been paid by the
Colonial-office to the character and qualification of the
doctor.— [EARL GREY—" No."] He looked behind the
scenes, and would point the Noble Earl's attention to the
statements in the report of the Emigration Commissioners
for 1848-9. At page 19, it was stated that the surgeon of
the ship Waverley had behaved improperly towards a
female emigrant. That was their protector the surgeon.
Page 38—The surgeon of the Lysander was unable
to preserve proper respect fur himself or proper discip-
line. P. 51—On board the Thomas Arbuthnot, the
doctor being found in bed with one of the unmarried
females, was recommended not to be re-appointed. P. 53
—The surgeon of the Walter Norris was found ineffi-
cient. P- 83—The surgeon of the Thetis was careless
of his duties and habitually drunk, and much sickness
prevailed on board. P. 86—The • surgeon was in bad
health, and unable adequately to discharge his duties.
P. 117—The surgeon on board the Earl Grey was said
to have shown want of judgment and discretion. The
matron was also inefficient, and some of the officers paid
improper attentions to the orphan Irish girls. The crew
took liberties with several of the young unmarried
women. From this cause the whole of these Belfast girls
had been branded, but that was doing neither justice to
them nor to the guardians of the Belfast Union, as a
great majority of them were found of excellent character.
At p. 336 reference was made to improper conduct on
board the Sobraon. On board the James Gibbs the sur-
geon appeared to have connived at improper intercourse
with some of the females by the officers and crew,
p. 193. The doctor and matron of the ship Incon-
stant, in consequence of indiscretion, were recom-
mended not to be re-appointed. His Lordship then
alluded to several other hardships endured by emigrants
to New Australia, and hoped that Government would in-
terpose their influence for the suppression of such acts
as those practised by the surgeons on board those emi-
grant ships. He then alluded to several cases, but more
particularly to the case of a party of engineers who
went to that colony, and complained most bitterly of the
usage they had received at the hands of the surgeon,
captain, and other officers. The Noble Earl next ad-
verted to the infamous system of seduction practised on
the wives of those emigrants who emigrated six months
after their husbands, and considered it most discreditable
that Government should not take precautions against
such an outrage on public virtue. He should, therefore,
_move that there be laid before the House a return of all
the penalties imposed and levied on owners, masters, and
captains and others, for breaches of the Act of sth and
-6th of Victoria, known by the name of the Passengers
Act, since the same Act came into force; specifying the
amount of fine, the year when such penalty was enforced,
the period when paid, how such penalty was disposed.of,
the name of the ship, the name of the offender, and the
offence he committed, together with the name f the port
whore the party was convicted, and the officers who en-
forced it.
Earl GREY said that be considered that the Noble
Earl (Lord Mounteashel) had no grounds for the
charges he had brought forward against the conduct of
the surgeons in the emigrant ships. He did not think
• that the paragraph read by the Noble Lord, from a
• newspaper, was of sufficient authority to be relied on as
a proof. lie admitted that there was one solitary case
in which severity had been used, but that was a case
where subordination should be observed, and where the
most arbitrary demeanour was evinced by only one per-
sonage, on whom it was thought right to inflict a trifling
punishment. But there appeared before the public the
' evidence of numbers of emigrants who. bore testimony
to the attention of the surgeons and captains, and all
'item pisoired in evidence that the greatest attention had
, been /*attune. When j,the Noble Earl (Lord Mount-
castelyalluelt4the impurity of the water, he should
m
' say aven r 2 onished at such an allusion, as such
..814tritrini44! -, Bs ,oh more general in other ships than 1
- -'r...6weekf4eeni2.e. it ships; for every emigrant ship
' 'T"-.lg;A* 41: mined, and particular caution is
':.mice -I,,hiv,i •. e"Passengers be properly provided for.
as
,-;The telelegtsff then referred to the sickness that many
Hof t at' s endured, attributable to their strict at-
tendon to the WNW patients on board their respective