The Press. — 1858-02-13 (London, England)

LORD CANNISG.B assistance to the military operations was not to preclude  future discussion upon the policy or the measures of administration he had adopted. The vote at length having been agreed to, LordPAisigatrrom the same evening introduced his Bill to amend the law relating to conspiracies to murder. The preliminary address of the Noble Lord' deficient both in precision of speech and in clearness of thought, was not calculated to win the sympthies or obtain the undivided consent of the House. An amendment was moved by Mr. KINGLAKE, and the Bill warmly opposed by many habitual supporters of the Government; Mr. ROEBUCK, at a late hour, delivering himself of an harangue, peculiarly conciliatory and persuasive, and as remarkable for its freedom from exaggeration as for its softened language and guarded tone. The debate was resumed on Tuesday, when Sir GEORGE GREY read a despatch from Count WALEWSKI, expressing the regret of the Emperor at the appearance in the Moniteur of addresses which should hurt the susceptibilities of England. Lord JOHN RUSSELL, taking an attitude of decided hostility towards France as towards the Government, spoke strongly against the humiliation they sought to inflict upon England. Mr. DISRAELI, extracting the proposed measure from the false declamation surrounding it, put it clearly before the House that the introduction of the measure was a mark of sympathy which might be paid to France without indignity or humiliation. Lord PALMERSTON briefly replied, and the House divided with an overwhelming majority of 299 to 99 in favour of the introduction of the Bill. On Wednesday the Oaths Bill, to which we have alluded elsewhere, was again introduced ; and on Thursday Earl GREY in the Lords, in a bold speech, presented and supported the petition of the East India Company, protesting against the abolition of the Company. In the course of the debate Lord ELLENBOROUGH drew a masterly sketch of our position in India, deducing from his facts an argument in favour of the existence of all the elements of a great war in India, a period which he considered " most inopportune " for any considerable legislative changes. Last night Lord PALMERSTON called upon the House to legislate for India, and intro luced his Bill ostensibly for the better government of that country; in reality, to vest its enormous patronage in the Minister of the Crown. The proposal was met by an amendment moved by Mr. T. BARING, whose distinguished social position, great wealth, and extensive commercial relations give peculiar significance to his simple amendment, " that the change is inex" pedient at the present time." Mr. BARING supported his amendment in a speech of singular lucidity and argumentative force. The debate was continued with vigour on both sides, and at length, on the motion of Mr. Regimen, adjourned till Monday.  The most interesting part of the discussion on Wednesday respecting Lord JOHN RUSSELL'S " Oaths Bill " was that which turned on the consideration of the Roman Catholic oath. The subject is of constitutional importance, and its discussion need not excite religious animosity. The case stands simply thus :—When the " Relief Bill " was passed in 1829, certain securities were exacted by the wisdom of Parliament, and with the approbation of the Wellington-Peel Cabinet, which had (as is now known by the " Peel Papers") forced the measure upon a reluctant Sovereign. Those securities were (1) that the franchise in Ireland should be removed from the class of " forty-shilling freeholdets," and be transferred to more substantial constituencies; (2) that the Lord Lieutenant and the Lord Chancellor of Ireland should always be of the religion of the Established Church ; and (3) that the oath at present exacted should be required from the Roman Catholics entering the House of Commons. We may pass the first and second of these securities ; but the Roman Catholics now wish to alter tha third of them, and seek to make it a grievance. They wero " emancipated" in 1829, and since then a great number of distinguished Roman Catholics have sat in Parliament. Amongst them have been the present Duke of NORFOLK, Lord E. HOWARD, the Hon. C.