Parliament got through a great variety of business last night;
but as none of it was of very great mark, it will suffice to glance at each of the principal subjects in the order of discussion.
In the House of Lords, the Marquis of CLANRICARDE drew attention to the disturbed state of Ireland, especially to the renewal of Orange pro- cessions and their turbulence; and, observing that Magistrates had been dismissed for taking part in Repeal demonstrations, he asked if Mr. Wat- son, who had taken an active part in reviving the Orange processions, had been dismissed from the Magistracy? In replying, Lord STANLEY uttered a strong rebuke to the turbulent Orangemen— Her Majwtfs Government had seen with the deepest regret, and with no in- considerable disappointment, that throughout a considerable portion of the North of Ireland the Orange Societies had been so ill-judged, so imprudent, and so reck- less, as to neglect the caution which had been given by the Government in with- drawing the Processions Act, and the remonstrance which had been addressed to them by those among them who had the greatest claim to their confidence and esteem. It was a melancholy feature of the present condition of Ireland that there should be two factions—for he would not call them parties--who seemed bent on aggravating and embittering its social evils by their contentions. No govern- ment, no statesman could effect any permanent improvement in the country so long as it was torn topiece-s by its own people. With respect to the particular case of Mr. Watson, the Magistrate who presided over the Lisburn assemblage of
Orangemen, the Government bad ordered an investigation, the result of which was not yet known. Moving for papers, Lord BEAUMONT called for a Ministerial explanation respecting the state of affairs in Syria. The Earl of ABERDEEN promised the papers, and gave the explanation. He said that if France claimed special and prescriptive rights to protect Christians in the East, she must in this case share them with England; who is under engagement to guard the interests of the Christians in Syria. In fact, the Five 'Powers are acting in concert at Constantinople. He denied the stories that France and England favour particular factions in Syria; relating how Colonel Rhodes, the Consul-General, had undergone hardship and fatigue to save six hundred Maronites, who are supposed to be favoured by the French but not by the British.
Lord STANLEY moved the second reading of the Waste Lands (Australia) Bill; explaining its main provisions. It is to authorize the granting of leases for waste lands in New South Wales, the terms to be ascertained by auction; it is to enable well-conducted convicts in Van Diemen's Land to become renters of land; and it is to retransfer the proceeds of land-sales in that colony to the Home Government, at the same time relieving the colony from the expenses of police and gaols. The Marquis of LANS- DOWNE strongly objected to proceeding, at so late a period of the session, with a bill requiring so much mature consideration. But after a few slight remarks, the bill was read a second time.
On the third reading of the Foreign Lotteries Bill, Lord STANLEY inti- mated that it was the intention of the Stamp-office rigidly to prosecute newspapers and periodicals for the publication of advertisements having reference to foreign lotteries. At the early sitting of the Commons, and also in the evening, several measures were advanced a stage, in so hasty and dry a manner that the remarks comprise nothing of interest.
In reply to the Earl of ARUNDEL, Sir JAMES GRAHAM said, that Government had heard in a perfectly frank and amicable spirit two exceptions taken to the Charitable Bequests Act by the Roman Catho- lic Commissioners under that act,—that the duty set for them, of ascertain- ing who were the authorized ecclesiastics in certain districts, trenched upon the province of the Prelates of each diocese ; and that one provision placed the regular [conventual] clergy in a worse position than before. During the recess, Government would give their best consideration to those points.
On the motion for going into Committee of Supply, Captain BERKEntar moved as an amendment, for a Committee of the whole House to address the Crown in favour of giving increased remuneration to the soldiers and sailors employed in China; who had had but 420,0001. among them, or only 41. a head, though they had had 3,000,0001. of merchandise in their power. Sir CHARLES NAPIER put the case thus—The petty-officers engaged for one day at Navarino obtained 171. each, and those engaged in the six weeks' war in Syria received 131.; but the petty-officers, a respectable class of men who ought to receive every encouragement, only received about 161. for three years' hard services in China. Mr. GouListraar resisted the mo- tion. There was no declaration of war in China; the seizures were of the nature of reprisals, not prizes; and to them the troops had no right. Sir ROBERT PEEL deprecated the practice of constituting the House a sort of appeal from the munificence of the Crown; and explained that the only seizures which could by any possibility have been construed to be prizes were worth no more than 117,000/.,—much less than the money granted. After a long debate, the amendment was negatived, by 63 to 27.
Mr. EVELYN DENISON called attention to the mismanagement of the Church property vested in the Irish Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The main facts are these. By a Parliamentary return made last year, the Com- missioners appear to have received for Bishops' lands in Ireland, on the conversion of the leasehold into perpetual tenure, 350,0001.: such lands are worth from twenty-three to twenty-six years' purchase; the Commissioners have obtained but seventeen or twenty-six; and instead of spending the an- nual value of the money, they have spent every farthing of the capital. Sir THOMAS FREMANTLE defended the Commissioners, on the score of the great expenses to which they had been put at first, for building, repairing, and furnishing the churches of the Establishment. Sir JAMES GRAHAM ad- mitted that their appropriation of the capital instead of the mere usufruct was an unfortunate course: but the Commissioners are now expending in- finitely less each year; and he had reason to believe that the only legiti- mate course, of expending the income without trenching upon the capital, would be pursued. If it were necessary, however, he would not hesitate, in the course of the next session, to propose to Parliament an alteration of the law. This statement was received with general satisfaction.
The House went into Committee, and several miscellaneous votes were passed, with the usual running commentary of observation; in the course of which, Sir JAMES GRAHAM stated that the system at the Pentonville Model Prison had been eminently successful in fitting the prisoners to earn an honest livelihood in the Colonies.
The House, which met at twelve, did not adjourn till half-past two this morning.
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