NEWS OF THE WEEL

THE House of Commons has just been engaged at its night and morning sittings in tinkering the India Bill in Committee. Members have bent the whole force of their great intellects to the " details " of the measure, and here we have some of the results. Mr. Gladstone wanted to name all the members of the Council in the bill, but the Committee would not even divide upon his motion. Mr. Vernon Smith desired to restrict the choice of Directors to the existing list, but the Government beat him by a large majority. Sir James Graham, anxious to " sustain the elective principle as ranch as possible," wanted to render ineligible for a seat in the new Council, Directors who are nominees of the Crown. Mr. Gladstone „wished that the number of elected Directors should be 10, and-"the Committee ' discussed that question, and several other qu'estions, at the same time and at great length. But the Government was again -successful in its resistance to both proposals. Lord Palmerston figured once more by a fruitless exertion to carry one of his original propositions. He wanted to limit the tenure of the councillors to ten years, instead of " during good be- - haiiour "; but he was defeated by 154 to' 118.' Then an attempt was made to render Directors capable of sitting in Parliament ; and although it was supported by Lord John Russell the motion was negatived by 245 to 121. And so matters proceeded. It is clear that the House is pretty well tired of the whole business, and is only anxious to get through its distasteful task.

Lord Luau's compromise bill, touching the admission of the Jews to Parliament, has been read a second time by a ma- jority of 143 to 97. There were two bills before the House of Peers : one, drawn by Lord Lucan, simply enables the House of Commons to admit Jews by resolution if it chooses ; the other, drawn by Lord Lyndhurst, a much wider measure, was based on a suggestion of Lord Derby's, and directed that the words "on the true faith of a Christian" should be struck out of the oath in any case where a duly ;elected Member de- clared that he could not conscientiously use those words. Lord Derby reappeared in the House on Thursday night, and made his statement. Still objecting to the admission of the Jews, he consents to the passing of Lord Luean's bill as the only practi- cable compromise ; and altogether gives the go-by to his own suggestion embodied in Lord Lyndhurst's bill. Of course Lord Lyndhurst did not fail to point out, in terms of cutting courtesy, how much he had been disappointed ; but, willing to support any measure calculated to promote the admission of the Jews, he gave his hearty support to that of Lord Lucan. The Prime' Minister did not escape without a lecture from the Clanoartys, the Rutlands, the Dungannons, nor without an eloquent remonstrance from the Bishop of Oxford ; but he gracefully carried his point. As to the Oaths Bill, he proposes that both the bills, together with the reasons why' the Lords dissent from the Commons amendments to the Oaths Bill, shall be sent at the same time to the House of Commons. One cannot but sympathize with MONTHLY Svpiamorrrr.)

the Duke of Marlborough who logically thinks that it will be very difficult, after assenting to one bill, to name reasons for rejecting the other. Such is the way in which the Peers save their dignity !

Her Majesty's Opposition, in the person of Mr. James Wilson, challenged the financial policy of the Government on Tuesday. Mr. Wilson had two objects in view : one was to enter the lists in behalf of Sir George Lewis's Sinking Fund clauses ; the other was to show that Mr. Disraeli has provided a deficit. Mr. Wilson wants to secure a real annual surplus which may be applied to the reduction of the National Debt. The best way of doing that, he thinks, is to provide Ways and Means which will enable the Government to apply a " moderate annual instalment " in di- minution of the great debt. That was the principle of Sir George Lewis's Sinking Fund clauses, and its plausibility can hardly be denied. It has an honest look, and implies a real de- sire, on the part of the present, to lessen the burdens of the fu- ture. But the point of Mr. Wilson's speech lay in his attack on the Budget of 1858. Mr. Disraeli boasted of a saving of 800,0001. and of a surplus of 300,0001., derived from the duty on bankers' checks. But the boasted saving has been di- minished by subsequent votes of supply, and Mr. Wilson esti- mates that there is a real deficiency of 400,0001. Mr. -Disraeli wisely confined his reply to an argument showing that the best made of reducing the debt is not by providing a specific surplus fbr the purpose, but by devoting the genuine surplus of each year to the debt. Now, although this may be a sound prin- ciple, and it is supported alike by Mr. Gladstone and Lord John Ruasell, the obvious reply lethal whether- we have a real surpina or not depends upon the morale of the Minister. Thus, Mr. Disraeli himself, the champion of the Act of 1829, is a case in point. The great principle of his budget was, that he not only evaded the obligations of repayment incurred during the war, but that he actually left us without a surplus wherewith to carry on the course of that natural Sinking Fund the principles of which he so much applauds. Is it surprising, therefore, that Mr. Gladstone, who came to the rescue of Mr. Disraeli, should have desiderated " a somewhat stiffer and more rigid doctrine on the subject of surplus revenue " ; and that Lord John Russell should express an opinion that " a real surplus is indispensable to a sound system of finance " ? It will be seen that the question of reducing the National Debt remains exactly where it was thirty years ago—dependent on the morality of the Minister.

Captain Vivian has returned to the charge on the question of military organization. It will be remembered that some time since he carried a resolutoin, by a majority of 2, declaring that our war administration should be under one responsible head. Mr. Disraeli said nothing on that occasion, but left Lord Palmer- ston and General Peel to fight the battle. A few days after- wards, he stated that in consequence of the thinness of the House and the smallness of the majority he should take no notice of the resolution. Captain Vivian, not quite accurately, complains of this as " unprecedented," and Mr. Disraeli vindicates himself by citing precedents which Lord John Russell, to whom he ap- pealed, said do not apply. But resolutions of the House have, unquestionably, been disregarded, and it is certainly a manlier course for a Minister to adopt a resolution or else rescind it. The real use of these discussions, however, has been to define more exactly the state of the question. Captain Vivian says he does not wish to abolish the office of Commander-in-chief, but to establish his clear and strict subordination to the Minister of War. General Peel and Mr. Disraeli say that the Commander- in-chief has been completely tamed into a subordinate of the

Secretary of State. If so, why have resisted Captain Vivian's motion ? The real fact is that the two officers go on in harmony only so long as they agree, or agree to differ ; and that the rela-

tions between them are not such as afford any guarantee for the

future. They are unknown, disputed, unsatisfactory ; and Lord John Russell's proposal for a Committee of Inquiry next session

is a very good one—if we cannot get a better. Would it not be practicable to appoint an honest commission with power to revise thoroughly the whole scheme of the War Department and set out the distinct duties of each officer under its chief the Minister

of War ? But we fear that the Horse Guards and the War Department, alike, want something more than new machinery— they want a new spirit, new principles.

The House of Lords has taken a step towards the sweeping away of a small but offensive heap of rubbish. On the motion of Lord Stanhope they have prayed her Majesty to abolish those venerable, but not time-honoured relics of a factious age—the State services which expressed the gratitude of our ancestors for the failure of the Gunpowder Plot, their humiliation at the execution of Charles I., and their joy at the restoration of his scapegrace son. This is an act creditable to the good. taste of the House of Lords. These obsolete celebrations rested for their authority upon royal proclamations alone. Intrinsically, they have no merits which command our esteem, many demerits which provoke condemnation, and they contain much profanity which excites indignation. The Church concurs with the House of Peers in praying for their abolition. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, the Bishop of Oxford, and the Bishop of Cashel supported the motion with much unction ; and the only exceptions to the general unanimity were the pious Duke of Marlborough, the ancient Bishop of Bangor, the Bishop of St. Asaph, and the Orange Lord Dungannon. One is amazed that the abolition of these services should have been re- served for the year of grace 1858.

Mr. Fitzgerald's motion touching the Orange Society failed as a party move directed against the Irish Executive. Its object was to censure Government for appointing Mr. Moore, a Tyrone Orangeman, Crown Prosecutor for the county of Tyrone. But it appeared that the gift of a place had so much relaxed the Orange principles of Mr. Moore that he felt it his duty to withdraw from the Orange Society as soon as he caught sight of his appointment. Mr. Fitzgerald's " thunder " against the Orange Society, although the bolts were somewhat well-worn, did not go for no- thing. It drew from the Government declarations which imply that they find it to their interest to discourage the Orange So- ciety. Fitness, irrespective of politics or religion, is in future to be the high standard regulating the appointments of a Tory Go- vernment—at least in Ireland. How will Enniskillen and the County Down like this ?

Lord Bury's bill to legalize marriage with a deceased wife's sister has passed the House of Commons. Its opponents, chiefly in the ranks of the Government, obstructed its progress as much as they could, but the majority was always against them. They deserved to fail, if for nothing more than this—that they endea- voured to make the bill prospective only, and thus to impress the brand of illegitimacy upon thousands of innocent children.

Old Father Thames has received this week some practical attention from the powers that be. Parliament and the Courts have not fled from his inodorous banks ; soothed, perhaps, by the promise that the Imperial Board of Works and the Munici- pal Board of Works will deal with him. Everybody has called upon these authorities to " take powers," and, emboldened by the outcry, the Government have resolved to spend 15001. a week in buying lime to throw into the sewers, and the Metro- politan Board of Works has extended to its President authority to adopt some other palliatives. Thus it will be seen that, al- though no great measure has been invented and sanctioned for the permanent purification of the old nuisance, we are imperially engaged in abating it by doses of lime to the extent of 200 tons daily. This is the palliative suggested by the scientific men. How far 1400 tons of lime per week will succeed in counteract- ing the effect of at least an equal amount of sewage manure in such a vast volume of water as the river Thames remains to be teen.

The Revenue table shows a decrease of 1,255,9531. on the quarter and of upwards of five millions on the year. This serves to remind us that we have paid less and have less to pay as In- eame-tax ; for to the reduction of that impost since 1856 are these alarming-looking figures due. Again, there is a decrease on the quarter of 270,3101. in the Customs ; but this is occasioned by the fact that the receipts of the corresponding quarter last year were increased by the payment of 600,0001. upon deliveries post- poned in anticipation of a reduction in the duties. There is a decrease on the year in the Customs of 767,6741., a sum that may be favourably compared with the decrease on the half- year of commercial panic ending in December-1,142,0001. In the Excise there is an increase of 119,0001. on the quarter, and 277,000/. on the year. Stamps, Assessed Taxes, the Post-office, and the " Miscellaneous" items yield also an increase. The de- ficiency in the revenue as compared with that of last year is, then, due to taxes taken off ; the increase marks some progress towards an improved state of trade.

The military position in India was, according to the latest advices, materially improved by the capture of Calpee. This

rebel rallying-place and head-quarters has long been a thorn in the side of our great line of communication between Allahabad and the north-west. It facilitated the interruptions constantly taking place on the Great Trunk Road ; and it was a permanent source of danger to Cawnpore, the pivot of Sir Colin Campbell's operations. Long held by the formidable Gwalior contingent, they defended its approaches with resolution and unusual bravery ; but, disheartened by successive defeats, they fled from it without resistance when Sir Hugh Rose appeared before its walls and entrenchments on the 23d of May, and laid hands on fifty guns and immense stores of ammunition. Deprived of the assistance of General Whitlock, who has halted so long at Banda, Sir Hugh Rose could not prevent the escape of the rebels ; but he pursued them, took eight guns, and cut the rearmost stragglers to pieces. This success at Calpee is a great relief to Central India ; but the war there is far from over. The Calpee fugitives have rushed into Scindia's territory and the Maharajah himself has come forth to meet them. The Kotah contingent is still at large, and Brigadier Smith, although he has covered the rear of Sir Hugh Bose, has not been able to overhaul them. These are troubles in store.

In Oude and Rohilcund affairs are still, in some perplexity. In many districts our authority does not extend beyond the range of our cannon, and in many more we have no authority at all. A band of fugitives from Central India recently broke through the Doab into Oude. Lucknow has been threatened. by the retainers of the Begum. Brigadier Jones has been so mo- lested at Shahjehanpore by the Moulvie and Nana Sahib that Sir Colin Campbell was compelled. to oome from Bareilly and drive them away. As a counterstroke, Brigadier Jones expelled the rebel chiefs from their head-quarters at Mohumdee. The chief force of the rebels, however, lies in Northern Oude. The cap- ture of Calpee will give Sir Colin Campbell increased facilities of dealing with them. The worst intelligence oomes from the southern Mahratta country. There our political agent, Mr. C. T. Manson, has been murdered by the chief of Nurgoond, and a part of Dharwar has been in insurrection. The fear of the spread of disaffection was so great that a Madras and Bombay column were at once sent into the district. The chief of Nurgoond has been captured ; Copal and Nurgoond have been taken by storm ; and Mr. An- derson, Secretary to the Bombay Government, in his telegraphic despatch to the Court of Directors, can only give us the assurance of a hope that "the outbreak has been promptly repressed." There have also been disturbances in the Nizam's country. These unpleasant facts should serve as a powerful reminder to our governing classes at home and in India that no amount of military successes will serve to restore our authority, unless, conjointly with them, we begin to rebuild upon a comprehensive plan the great edifice of Indian government.

From the United States comes intelligence of a friendlier feel- ing towards this country, and something like an admission that the great " outrages " cry had a very small foundation, and that many of the stories were manufactured " for newspaper consump- tion." The most interesting item of news, however, is that the Mormons have commenced their fourth migration. Their short history is one of recession from the frontiers of civilized states. They were expelled from Missouri by the slaveowners, and from Illinois by the free settlers. Led beyond the Rocky Mountains by Brigham Young they escaped for a time out of the jurisdic- tion of the United States. Included once more within the do- minions of the Union by the treaty with Mexico, their hopes of escape were disappointed. From that date to this they have been almost in continual collision with the judicial officers and the laws of the United States : hence the recent military expedition. According to the tenor of the advices the head of the Mormon column, which has begun its weary pilgrimage, points towards Sonora.

The week has not been without its domestic calamities. A huge conflagration has destroyed a great pile of warehouses in the London Docks, and consumed a large mass of valuable com- modities. Its terrific aspect was heightened by repeated explo- sions of quantities of saltpetre. The railways have furnished their contingent of accidents. An engine on the Great Western Railway left the rails and, dragging the carriages with it, ran on until stopped by a bank. The passengers escaped with " a shaking," but had it happened on an embankment how fatal might have been the result. On the Great Northern Railway the tire of the driving-wheel of an engine broke, and the train ran off into the fields. On the South-Eastern Railway the crank axle of an engine broke and nine carriages were hurled off the rails. In these accidents many persons have been seriously in- jured, and the lives of several are in imminent peril.