Vthatto auW rurrritiugu iu Ihrtinuumg.

PRINCIPAL BUSINESS OF THE WEER.

Hones or Loans. Monday, Feb. 11. Greece : further Questions by Lord Stanley, and Lord Lansdowne's Explanations—Ecclesiastical Commission Bill, read a second time, after debate.

Tuesday, Feb. 12. Language of Acts of Parliament, Bill to shorten, brought in by Lord Brougham, and read a first time—Transportation to the Cape: Petition presented by Lord Stanley. Thursday, Feb. 14. Dolly's Brae: Question by Lord Londonderry, and Answer by Lord Stanley.

Friday, Feb. 15. Treatment of Emigrants in Government Ships : Statement by Lord lionteagle--Education Grant, Management Clauses : Explanation by Lord Lansdowne—Encumbered Estates Ireland : Lord Glengall's Motion for Returns dis- cussed.

House OP COMMONS. Monday, Feb. 11. Mr. Horsman's Charges against the Go- vernment, withdrawn, after mutual explanations—Ceylon Committee reappointed, after debate—Pirates (Head-money) Repeal Bill, read a second time, after brief de- bate—Australian Colonies : Resolutions reported, Bill brought in, and read a first time—Mr. Labouchere's Resolutions on the Merchant Service: leave to bring in three Bills, for Improving the Mercantile Marine, regulatingthe Merchant Seamen's Fund, and regulating the Admeasurement of Merchant Shipping—Parliamentary Voters (Ireland) Bill, and Elections (Ireland) Bill, ordered to be brought in—Prison Discipline : Motion for a Select Committee on Prison Discipline, debated, amended, and carried.

Tuesday, Feb. 12. New River Company's Water Bill, second reading opposed by Sir George Grey, and postponed Order to suspend the second reading of all Water Bills for the Metropolis till after Easter—Sunday Labour in the Post-office : Peti- tions for total cessation—Compulsory Enfranchisement of Copyhold Tenures : Sir -George Grey states that Government will not introduce a bill; Mr. Aglionby, that be win, at the earliest opportunity—Colonial Government: Sir William Molesworth's intended Motion withdrawn—Irish Jury-lists : Mr. Sadleir's Motion debated, and withdrawn—Process and Practice (Ireland) Bill, read a second time—Court of Chan- cery (Ireland) Bill : Motion for second reading; debate cut shoreby " counting-out." Wednesday, Feb. 13. Mr. Frewen's Highways (District Surveyors) Bill; second reading postponed till 6th March—Mr. Milner Gibson's County Rates and Expendi- ture Bill; second reading postponed to 13th March—Mr. Cornewall Lewis's Bill to Amend the Laws relative to the Management of Highways in England and Wales: Bill brought in, after debate, and read a first time.

Thursday, Feb. 14. Public Libraries : Mr. Ewart obtains leave to bring in a Bill

Ministers'-money (Ireland): Mr. William Fagan's motion negatived, by 96 to 76— Transportation of Felons : Mr. Adderley's Motion for leave to bring in a bill re- voking certain powers of the Crown, negatived by 110 to 32—Public Libraries : Mr. Ewares Select Committee reappointed—Landlord and Tenant : Mr. Posey obtains leave for a bill.

Friday, Feb. 15. Board of Trade Returns : Mr. Labouchere's Replies to Mr. Dis- raeli's Questioning—Treatment of Emigrants in Government Ships: Sir George (}ray's Answer to Mr. Scott—Denmark : Statement by Lord John Russell—Dis- tressed linionein Ireland : Lord John Russell's Resolution for further Aid—Court of Chancery (Ireland) Bill; second reading carried—Registrar's Office Bankruptcy Bill : Reference to a Select Committee carried against Ministers, by 61 to 57—Mer- chant Shipping, Mercantile Shipping, and Merchant Seamen's Fund Bills, read a first time—Army Estimates presented.

TIME-TABLE.

The Commons.

Hour of Hour of Meeting. Adjournment.

Monday 4h ... (m) lh ran Tuesday 9h 45m Wednesday (Ash W ) 2h .... bh 30m

Thursday 4b , 10h Friday 1211 Sittings this Week, 5; Time, 32k 45m — this Sesslon,12; — 88h 15m

ECCLESIASTICAL COMMISSION Bur.

The second reading of the Government measure for reforming the con- stitution of the Ecclesiastical Commission was moved by the Marquis of LANSDOWNE, with an explanatory speech. The Commission has to deal with property derived from Episcopal funds of no less value than 16,0001. a year, and with property derived from what is called the Common fund which at present yields 136,0001., and which will before very long yield 300,000/. a year. The income is derived from all manner of sources, requiring the most constant and vigilant attention of the Commissioners. It is admitted that a state of things has arisen which demands imperatively that these interests and details shall no longer be given to the incidental care of persons who attend at one time and not at another. The plan of naming three paid Commissioners bad been proposed, but Government consider it will be sufficient to have two paid Commissioners and a third one not necessarily remunerated. The bill therefore provides, that " an independent Commission" should be composed of three persons, one of them to be named by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the other two by the Crown ; the paid Commissioner appointed by the Crown to be the Chair- man of the Estates Committee, and to receive an allowance of 1,2001. per annum ; the paid Commissioner named by the Archbishop of Canterbury to receive an allowance of 1,0001. per annum. It proposes to exact that " no act, matter, or thing, shall be done at any meeting of the Church Estates Commissioners, unless two of the paid Commissioners are present" ; that the

The Lords.

Hoar of Hour of Meeting. Adjournment.

Monday Sh7h ibm

Tuesday — bh 42m

Wednesday No Sitting. Thursday bh illi 40m

Friday — 6h 20m Sittings this Week, 4; Time, lb 57ut

— this Session, 9; 1711 42m

offices of Secretary and Treasurer shall not be filled by the same person; that the Episcopal fund and the Common fund be consolidated into one fund, applicable to all the purposes conducive to the efficiency of the Esta- blished Church now separately provided for by those funds" ; that a fixed income in lieu of a fluctuating yearly income shall be secured to such Arch- bishops and Bishops appointed after 1847 as prefer a fixed arrangement ; and it would set limits to the income of several Deaneries.

After some general remarks by the Archbishop of CANTERBURY and the Bishop of LONDON, in a friendly spirit, a word from the Earl of Han- ROWBY on the necessity of additional Bishops—which was cordially re- echoed on the ground of personal experience by the Bishop of LONDON, and the expression of a doubt on the proposed union of the " Episcopal fund " with the " Common fund," by Lord STANLEY, the bill was read a second time.

Hoitsmsses CHARGE AGAHTST THE GOVERNMENT.

On the mediation of Lord ASHLEY, the Parliamentary " affair " between Mr. Horsman and Lord John Russell with Sir George Grey was settled amicably in the House of Commons on Monday.

Lord ASHLEY ventured as a mutual friend to 'interpose, and sug- gest that the difference which had arisen between gentlemen who stood so high in public estimation, and who, he was sure, notwithstanding what had occurred, still entertained towards each other feelings of.mu- tual respect and kindness, would be adjusted by the method proposed. A large proportion of the case must concern matters that took place without the walls of that House ; and what took place within those walls must con- sist in great measure of a few verbal communications made in haste, probably during debate,—one or two expressions which the. honourable Member might have used under the influence of zeal for a measure he had at heart, and some expressions which might have dropped from the noble Lord during the pro- gress of business and while listening to some other debate. He did in his con- science believe that this matter was simply and altogether a misunderstand- ing. He thought, therefore, it would be gratifying to the House,. and that the public service would be advantaged, if without pang any opinion what- soever beyond the intimation of its being satisfied of the honourable inten- tions of Members who had sat in the House so long and taken so honourable and distinguished a part in its proe,eings, and beyond also the expression of its regret that a difference of opinion Aeuld have occurred between par- ties of such high and respectable characters, the House should enter at once upon the business on the paper, and undertake the important matters which waited its consideration. He would take the liberty of proposing that the Orders of the Day be now read. Mr. Honssists assumed that the House agreed unanimously to Lord Ashley's proposal to allow him to state what was the interpretation he meant to put on certain passages in his letter, which had been misunder- stood.

Entirely and readily withdrawing any imputation on the noble Lord's per- sonal honour, he would frankly tell the House and the noble Lord what he did feel on the matter. His belief was that the noble Lord was annoyed at his having persevered in his motions respecting the Church, and that he took the opportunity of showing how be could dispense with some of the Parlia- mentary courtesies established by the usage of the House, and that carelessly and incautiously he had carried that to such an extent that he had compro- mised himself, and enabled him to establish some foots against him, if this had gone to a Committee. If he were asked whether the noble Lord deliber- ately intended to deceive him, he would say candidly that he meant no such insinuation in his letter, and had no such belief upon his mind. So far from deliberation, he believed the noble Lord acted unreftectingly ; and, instead of a disposition to deceive, he believed there was.nothing beyond a disposition to annoy. He would :draft that he had on some occasions given the noble Lord provocation: he had certainly felt, on some occasions when he had brought forward questions distasteful to the Government, that he had been met with personalities, of which the noble Lord was the only party who knew the injustice, and that the noble Lord did not, as he might have generously done, give him the benefit of his testimony to that injustice. But, as far as he was concerned, he could assure the noble Lord there would never be any revival of personal warfare, and that in any discussion of the questions to which allusion had been made, it would be his anxious endeavour to avoid an g in the smallest degree painful to the noble Lord.

ord Jesus Ritsszu, declared that nothing could be more satisfactory than these explanations and assurances.

He was quite ready to do Mr. Hemmen justice in respect of his public mo- tives : he believed that in pressing forward those questions the honourable gentleman had no object in view but the general benefit of the public and the improvement of the Church. He thought the main cause of the misun- derstanding had arisen in this—that while the honourable Member must feel, that while it was competent to him to press upon the House to the full extent his views and impressions upon a subject, it occurred to himself as a Minister of the Crown, if he undertook any measure, -that he had not only to show to the House that the measure was in itself just, but to communicate to others such an impression that it was just that he might succeed in•iinngg it. The honourable Member had thought that a measure could becarried easily, which he himself considered could not be carried without asking the opinion and requiring the deliberation of various persons connected with the matter. He was very happy to find that the honourable gentleman proposed hereafter to make every allowance of that kind which he could require ; for his pait, he could assure the honourable Member that he should be ready to enter into any discussion that might come on, giving him full credit for zeal for the benefit of the Church and for the purity of his motives. Sir GEORGE GREY stated his entire satisfaction with the terms of the retractation made ; and the subject dropped.

MLNISTE,RIS-MONEY IN IRELAND.

In moving for a Select Committee on Minister's-money in Ireland, and on the Church Temporalities Act, Mr. FAOAN recapitulated some of the sectarian and social animosities which the maintenance of the impost keeps up. As a substitute, he suggested the appropriation of income ob- tained from the sale of perpetuities, which might be rendered much more productive than it in Sir Gsonenz GREY admitted the evil, but said that the substitute was not sanctioned by the report of the Select Committee in 1848 ; which did not show that the Ecclesiastical Commissioners had any available surplus, though the Committee spoke of it as likely to accrue. That circumstance, however, does not exist ; and he moved "the previous question." After a short debate of minor interest, the House divided on the previous question—" That this motion be now put" ; and resolved, by 96 to 76, that the motion should not be put Itimn CHANCERY REFORM.

On the order of the day for the second reading of the Court of Chan- cery (Ireland) Bill, Mr. Turistnn entered into detailed criticisms to show that it will do more mischief, create more delay, and occasion more ex- pense, than the existing system.

The main proposition of the bill—to base all proceedings in Chancery on petition and affidavit, especially if you annexed the apparatus of interroga-

tories—would at best be but nugatory, while at the same time it assumed the abandonment of the check against irrelevancy, 8re., which is now given under the existing system of bill and interrogatory by the signature of coun- sel ; the plan proposed in the 9th clause, of giving the Court a power on the presentation of a special case prepared under the direction of the Master, to determine in a conclusive manner on the interests of incompetent or absent parties, might work the greatest injury to infants or persons. abroad ; and the proposition on which the 13th dense is framed, empowering the Court, in cases of administration, foreclosure, new appointment, and maintenance, to refer the matter to the determination of the Master, is an objectionable device to enable the Court to escape from its responsibility. The verbal in- accuracy of the bill is so great as to make it a disgrace to legislation. With deference to the Solicitor-General, whose numerous duties render it impos- sible that he should have minutely considered the language and details of the measure, Mr. Turner recommended him to withdraw the bill, and bring in a more efficient one, or to refer it to a Select Committee, which might re- model it in a form fit for the wants not only of the Court of Chancery in Ire- land but in England also. Early in his speech, Mr. Turner declared that he was as anxious as Sir John Romilly could be for Chancery reform ; and he hoped, either imme- diately before or after Easter, to introduce a bill to remedy the delay and expense of the Court of Chancery in England. Sir JOHN Renee's., though not prepared for the warmth of his honour- able friend, " was aware that this is only the beginning of a great deal of opposition -which the bill would have to encounter."

It is objected that irrelevant statements may appear in petitions : so may, and sometimes do, in a bill ' - the existing checks on irrelevancy

be as effective in the reformed proceedings as in the old. The loss of the advantages of cross-examination by written interrogatory is a figment : Mr. Bell would never cross-examine at all in the vast minority of cases ; with the present system it is a Chancery axiom, that to cross-examine a witness is to prove your adversary's ease as often as not The injury of absence is another figment : absence is constantly voluntary ; it matters little whether a party to a suit is in the next street or in the next kingdom. The power of reference to the Master is permissive only, in four specified classes of cases where it is a notorious desideratum. Take an illustration of the present system. A bill is filed setting forth a will, and praying for nothing but a mere account ; thereupon, after the lapse of three months, an answer is put in ; thereupon, six weeks after that, an amended bill is entered ; there- upon, a second answer is put in; thereupon, there is areplication ;a nd there-. -upon, the preparation of briefs and the feem,g of five or six counsel : after all when the case comes into court, the plaintiff's counsel say, "This is a mere administration suit—we ask for the usual decree "; and there is an end of the matter. Such a system can be maintained with no view but that of putting money into the pockets of practitioners ; and the reference of such eases to the Master could work nothing but good for all parties. The present bill allows parties to insist, under the peril of cost, on the old mode of proceed- ing. Sir John Remillywould not deny that the bill was susceptible of im- provement in its wording : such improvements may well be made in Com- mittee ; and when made, the measure will carry into effect the views of par- ties praetieing in the courts who are really desirous of removing the abuses which encumber the administration of the law.

Mr. NAPIER. was about to speak, but at that moment it was noticed that fewer than forty Members were present. The SPEASER counted, found there were but 25, and adjourned the House.

buss JURY LISTS.

Mr. SADLEIR moved for a Select Committee to mqui a into the facts connected with the striking of the special jury in the I lash case of Calla- nen versus Cameron.

. In 1848, during the disturbances in the South of Ireland, Major Cameron, of the Third Buffs, found it to be his duty to take possession of some houses

in Carrick-on-Suir, the property of Mr. Callanan, a respectable Catholic trader of that town. Mr. Callanan commenced an action against Major Cameron for so taking possession of his houses, ejecting the inmates, casting the furniture into the streets, and occupying the place with his soldiers.

Mr. Bennis, the Crown Solicitor, acting for the defendant, obtained an order for a special jury; and when the solicitors for the plaintiff and for the

defendant came to strike off, as was their right, twelve names each from the

list of forty-eight which had been obtained by ballot, Mr. Kemmis struck off nine of the ten Roman Catholics on the list, and the tenth probably escaped

the insult only by the accident that he was supposed to be a Protestant. These nine names were not in consecutive order on the list, but were picked out by Mr. Kemmis from various parts of it ; and when he had struck them off, he had the indelicacy to say that it was a matter of indifference to him which were the three remaining names. Mr. Peulleir was personally sic- ' ted with every one of those nine Roman Catholic gentlemen, and could testimony to their unblemished reputations and undeniable respect- . for their social position, some of them were County Magistrates and tity-Lieutenants--some men of large propertyand moderate political opinions—men who had served on grand juries for years—men who had never taken part in any political movement or discussion—men deservedly respected for their high principle and benevolent habits. Mr. Sadleir then briefly mentioned each of these nine gentlemen in succession, and bore his testimony to the high character of each. Among them was Mr. Bian- coni, whose character was well known in that House, and who had gained universal praise from all sorts of men for his probity and worth. Mr. Sadleir contended, that in State prosecutions it should not be the prac- tice simply-to "take the best course for getting a verdict"; fortified his argument by the actual instructions issued from time to time by the late Sir Michael O'Loghlen, Mr. Justice Perrin, and Lord Chancellor Brady. There should be no discretionary power left to -the officiaL Every one acquainted with the history of Mr. Kemmis mast know thatauch a discretionary power

in his hands would be exercised so as to be a preetieal insult to every Ro- man Catholic. He believed him to be a gentleman of' great worth in pri-

vate life, as well as a faithful public officer ; but he knew well the system in which Mr. Kemmis had been schooled—that he had been cradled in hi- gong and intolerance, and that he was the son of Mr. Thomas Kemmis, who had been the official of one of the most rampant Orangemen that ever filled

the position of first law-officer of the Crown. Mr. Snell ' concluded a some- what lengthened speech by observing, that great professions were made of a desire to put an end fo rehgions differences; he would therefore ask the Go- vernment to devise measures-forpreventing a recurrence of such cases. The Queen, when she went to Ireland, plainly intimated-that the knew no reli- gious distinctions.

Mr. SCULLY seconded the motion. Mr. HATCHELL, Solicitor-General for Ireland, commented on the ques- tionable propriety of making the present motion while the cause of Calla- nan versus Cameron is still untried, and on the unfair spirit shown in the unnecefesary. reference to the transactions of UM. Re read a letter from Mr.- }lemma, obtained by the Attorney-General for Ireland on the direc- tion of the Lord-Lieutenant, which denied the whole charge.

"He struck off such names," said Mr. Hatchell, referring to Mr. Kemmis's letter, " as he believed would leave standing the men best calculated to give a fair and impartial verdict. Of the twelve whom he struck off, he did not omit any on account of their religion ; nor did it occur to his mind that any of them were Roman Catholics until it was mentioned in the House of Commons."

Mr. SCULLY stated, from personal knowledge, that the practice of _packing the jury-lists had prevailed in the county of Tipperary, which he represents.

At the trial of Mr. Smith O'Brien, at Clonmel, in September 1848, among the first hundred names called there were found only five Catholics; but at the Spring Assizes for the same year, when there were no political charges, out of the first seventy-five names called twenty-three were Catholics. The only remedy for the evil was to give strict instructions to the Crown Solicitor to state in open court, fairly and manfully, his objections to any juror, and see if the objections were sound or not; and if an act of Parliament were nenessary for the purpose, one should be passed. The present partial system weakened the respect for the law in Ireland, where a man, even although he might have been fairly convicted of murder, was looked upon as a martyrmartyr if he had been tried by a sectarian jury ; and until a totalchange in the jury system was introduced into Ireland, discontent and social disorganization must be expected to continue. Mr. W. FAGAN added his concurrent testimony as to the jury-packing in Tipperary, and bore witness to the prevailing belief that Mr. Kemmis was influenced in this instance by his strong religious prejudices.

Mr. NAPIER did not like the course of pretermitting the opportunity of applying to the Court to correct on the spot any fraud or impropriety, and of coming to that House to involve it in political and religions discussions while all the facts are not before it. The Aprommv-GrirrEnsi protested against entertaining a question of this description unless there were a direct charge of corruption brought against the public officer; and against making that House a court of appeal on his discretionary acts. Mr. HUME thought it unwise, impolitic, and improper, to bring forward any practical question in that House except on specific grounds. Mr. SADLEIR felt indisposed to press his motion ; not out of respect to the objections, but because the attendance of Members was so thin. He complained that a copy of Mr. Kemmis's letter had not been furnished to him. Though he had noticed the ease at the end of last session, there had been no intimation, direct or indirect, "that Mr. Kemmis was capable of such an explanation." Mr. Kemmis had been intimately connected with the county of Tipperary from his childhood—he was now between seventy and -eighty years of age. He had for fifty years been attending twice a year in Clonmel, where those gentlemen acted as jurors ' • and he would tell the House, that the solemn statement of Mr. Kemmis that he was not cognizant that Messrs. Scully, Doherty, and Power were resident Roman Catholic gentlemen of that county, would not be believed in the county of Tipperary or in the province of Minister.

The reports in the newspapers of Wednesday morning state that the motion was "by leave withdrawn" ; but the entry in the Votes and Pro- ceedings of the House states that the motion was "put, and negatived."

REVIVAL OF THE DOLLY'S BRAE Faun.

The Marquis of LONDONDERRY made an earnest appeal to Lord Stan- ley, on Thursday, with regard to his announced. motion on the subject of Dolly's Brae. Lord Londonderry said that he would ask two or three questions ' • but in point of fact he only implied them, apparently in a kind of forgetfulness. The main drift of his representation was, that to revive the discussion of the subject would increase the excitement already sub- sisting in the county of Down.

" That hitherto peaceable and industrious county is in a state of dreadful excitement, by the Presbyterian ministers at the present moment exhorting the people not to pay rents, but to resist the laws : they are more rabid in their Radical doctrines than the Catholic priests have ever been formerly."

-Unless Lord Stanley's motion, therefore, were to end in some practical object, it could only do mischief without good. All this was expressed in very earnest language. In reply, Lord STANLEY took notice of the fact that no question had been put to him ; but, gathering that the noble Marquis wanted to know the object of the motion, he invited him to come down to the House and hear the statement on Monday night.

He had no knowledge as to any connexion there might be between the proceedings at Dolly's Brae and the reluetanceef Lord Londonderry's tenants to pay his rents. If he was afraid of the excitement -which the discussion of the motion might occasion, Lord Stanley would dissipate that alarm by pro- mising that he would not mention either the noble Marquis himself, or his tenants, or his rents, but should confine himself to the great constitutional question which he should than endeavour to bring before the House.

THE CEYLON COMMITTEE: CAPTAIN WATSON.

Before the resumption of the debate on Mr. Hawes's motion for the re-

appointment of the Ceylon Committee, Lord Join ELL read to the House a letter that he had received froL Captain Albert Watson, "son of a general officer, and himself an officer in the Army for More than twenty years, and now a Captain in the Ceylon Regiment.'

Captain Watson is attending in London under a summons from Ceylon, to give evidence before the Conunittee appointed to inquire into the recent events in that island. He saw by the newspapers that very cruel and un- justifiable attacks had been made en him in Parliament by Mr. Rsillie and Mr. Hume, for issuing a proclamation which was said to threaten "acts of atrocity more suitable for the destruction of mad dogs than becoming pro- ceedings which involved the lives of human beings." He now wrote—" Had opportunity been afforded me by Mr. Refine before pledging his veracity and immy honour, I should have informed that gentleman, as I now do your Loiid hip, that the document in question is utterly spurious; - that I never issued nor authorized such a proclamation; and that he has been mis- led by an unprincipled forgery." Mr. BAILLIE said that the document in his possession had attached what purported to be Captain Watson's signature. It was in the ' lese language, but sworn to before justices by the best interpreters. e could not suspect that a document so transmitted to him was a forgery; but, if it should turn out to be so, no one would more rejoice than himself. The resumed debate on Mr. Hawes's motion, which immediately fol- lowed, was almost devoid of interest. The sole enlivenment was due to an unexpected manifestation of 'opinion by Mr. Roebuck Mr. Hums, Mr. ADDBRLEY, and Mr. Duns err, had reiterated their convictions that the Committee could not do justice to the important question referred to them; and Mr. Join; STUART, who had not served on the Committee last session, had hinted his impression that the proceedings were in dan- ger of being turned into a farce, instead of being so conducted as to arrive at the truth. Mr. Itosaincictook up these insinuations, and taunted the Members who used them with cowardice. The members of the Committee all declared, they were sure Government

was going to interfere with the witnesses to be examined by them. Now the idea of going into Committee and saying, " We know we cannot do jus-

tice, we are sure to be stopped" !—Why, the real course for those honour-

able gentlemen to take would be to refuse at once to be members of it. In fairness and justice to themselves they ought to take that step. But on what grounds do they make a charge so grave—a charge so tending to de- stroy the character of any Government whatever ? We have a certain con- quered dependency called Ceylon—for Ceylon is not properly a colony—we have a certain conquered dependency, filled with a hostile population, not English, but with a small body of English resident among them, and with a Governor representing England at its head. An insurrection had broken out there, which was suddenly and rapidly suppressed after a declaration of martial law and certain proceedings which he was not about to characterize, but the result had been immediate and perfect peace from that time to the present. It appeared to him, that in the present case Lord Torrington's great mistake had been that he had ever handled a pen. If he had only acted, and not written, he would no doubt have been a very good Governor. Whether the noble Lord had penned his despatches he dui not know; but he believed he knew something about the population of Ceylon,

and he affirmed, the noble Lord, by his conduct, had done more than could have been done in any other way to prevent the effusion of blood : if he had

trifled or played with a hostile population of that sort, we should have had a war in Ceylon, and where one man had been slain thousands would have fallen. Honourable gentlemen had complained that certain things had been done "contrary to law." Now, he wanted to know what "contrary to law" meant in Ceylon ? It was a conquered dependency. English laws could only be introduced into it by an act of Parliament or by the direct intervention of the Sovereign ; and unless such an act was passed or such an intervention took place, the laws of the conquered dependency would still remain in force. What act of Parliament or declaration of the Monarch prevented the Go- vernor of Ceylon proclaiming martial law ? Was it illegal for Lord Torring- ton to proclaim martial law ? If not, he could plainly have appointed the tribunal which had tried the people in Ceylon ; and, though it might have been said he was cruel and imperious, and had done things which would not have been done by a merciful man, he judged by the result, and looking to that, he saw Lord Tonington had maintained peace. He saw a tendency in the House and in the country, actuated, he was about to say, by a pitiful spirit of popularity-hunting, to so cramp and control all those who represented England in foreign lands, and who under her glorious flag endeavoured to extend the blessings of her civilization and of her laws in her possessions : he saw such a tendency to paralyze their power and to interfere with their every enterprise, that he felt it 'his duty as an English- -man to stand up and to enter his protest solemnly, indignantly, and seriously -against such a course of proceeding.

Returning to those five honourable Members, was it not a most unwise, injudicious, and mischievous way, to deal as they had done with a question affecting a distant dependency ? Any one who believed he was going into an investigation in which he was sure to be thwarted by the Colonial Minister would much better consult his own character, and that of the House and of the country by at once declaring there was no hope of justice,. and that he would withdraw from the Committee, than by entering upon it with these prefatory statements, which looked like an excuse for an expected failure of their charges, or a predetermination that there was no chance of eliciting the truth.

Mr. MIME pronounced Mr. Roebuck's speech "most tyrannical"; and retorted the charge of popularity-hunting- Was it not too much, after human blood had been shed and great bar- barities had taken place, that those who advocated the cause of humanity were to be called popularity-hunters ? If there was any one in the House who deserved to be called apopularity-hunter it was the honourable and learned .gentleman himself. (Cheers and laughter.) He remembered when the honourable and learned Member stood at the bar of the House advocating the cause of the rebels of Canada, and he would leave it to him to say how his language then was to be made to agree with that he had just made use of. It appeared to him most strange that his honourable friend the Member for Sheffield should have expressed anything like approbation of such a course of proceeding. His honourable friend must really, in the course of last night, have slept off all his good and ancient opinions, and risen from his bed this morning a very different man from what he had hitherto been— not the man that he had always been taken for—not the anxious and ardent supporter of liberty, ready to resist any attack upon the rights of the sub- ,ject. Now his honourable friend had stood forth in the character of an advo- cate of a state of things in which the courts of law were shut and redress for injury or grievance denied. The will of Lord Torrington was to be law, ac- cording to his honourable Mend. But it would have been well if the honourable and learned gentleman was made aware that Ceylon had a con- -.stitution, and that her Majesty sent out a Governor there with certain in- structions, and that courts had been established there with English judges to preside over them. Was it to be endured that Lord Torrington should dis- regard the aid of a law-officer of the Crown who had been deputed by the Government to give him advice ? It was well known that, without taking the opinion of that officer, Lord Torrington directed the con- fiscation of the property of all persons who were found absent from their dwellings ; and for the more effectually carrying those de- signs into execution, he sent out parties of military to seize the persons of"individuals who might so have absented themselves from their homes. By the act of Lord Torrington the property of every man might be confis- cated, and his son shot ; and in consequence of the act of indemnity there was no remedy to the suffering parties. To that the sanction of the British Crown had been given, and eighteen individuals were executed without the interposition of a Judge-Advocate : no such officer was present at those trials, no senior officer presided at any of the trials, and the unfortunate victims were led from the courts-martial and shot. Was not that a practice in the -.conduct of courts-martial sufficient to make the hair of any military man _stand on end ? In the Committee he asked if any report or account of the proceedings had come home, and ho received an answer in the negative : he then moved the Committee that they should put a similar question to the Commander-in-chief; and the answer which they received from the Horse -Guards was "No." Now, he would ask the House, had the noble Lord given his sanction to those proceedings without any documentary .evidence of their nature or character ? Not content with the unjuiriea made in the Committee and at the Horse Guards, he moved the Committee to request the attendance of Lord Grey ; but his Lordship declined to come : and now it only remained for him to salt in the House, whether her Majesty's Government had sanc- tioned the execution of eighteen individuals ? With such deeds before them, and with the striking fact that men were executed without anything like a lawful trial—with those broad facts before them, the general feeling in this country was that there existed great ground fo' complaint ; that there was great ground for saying that the authorities in this case were acting unfairly because they were acting ignorantly ; and that it had at length become the duty of the House of Commons to take measures for ascertaining the truth and making it known.

Mr. ROEBUCK explained ; and reiterated his taunts against the Committee.

His honourable friend had forgotten that he drew a &Unction between

colonies and settlements; between a country peopled chiefly by Englishmen, who were governed by English laws, and a territorial conquest which a =all body of Englishmen held by force. His honourable friend had told the Route that they had reason to complain. Of what ? Of the government of Lord Torrington, he supposed. Well, then, if his honourable friend thought i so, he ought to impeach Lord Torrington ; or he ought rather to accuse the Colonial Minister. It was nonsense to talk about Lord Torrington ; for if all that honourable Members in that House said was true the Colonial Minister ought to be an object of accusation • and if that Minister were accused, his honourable Mend would find him! as ardent an advocate—he would say nothing about his own ability as an advocate, but he would find him as ardent an advocate as any in that House. Let his honourable friend charge Lord Grey, let him lay a good ground for that charge, and he would find no warmer supporter than he should prove himself. But he objected to unjust imputa- tions, for their effect always must be to weaken all fair imputations. The noble Lord on the Treasury bench sat smiling at these imputations, for he thought them ridiculous : "the world" thought them ridiculous, and Mr. Roebuck agreed with the world.

The motion was then agreed to, and the Committee of last session was- reappointed PROTECTION OF COLONIES AGAINST TRANSPORT CONTAMINATION..

Mr. ADDERLEY'S motion was couched in these terms-

" That leave be given to bring in a bill to repeal that part of the Act 5 George IV. which empowers her Majesty, with the advice of her Privy Council, to appoint any places in her Majesty's dominions for the transporta- tion of felons and others under sentence of punishment." Mr. Adderley avowed that his measure was suggested by the occur- rences at the Cape of Good Hope. At present the Crown possesses the power of selecting places for the reception of convicts by order in Council; a power which his bill proposed to revoke, and leave in the hands of Parliament. It is true that the attempts to convert the Cape of Good Hope into a penal colony have been abandoned, but such attempts have been made four times ; the Cape is still subject to military transportation ; and other colonies are exposed to the attempts which have been made on the Cape. If Guernsey and Jersey are protected by their proximity to France, there is no such protection for Jamaica, Ceylon, or Mauritius. He had heard it said out of doors that his motion would trench on the Royal prerogative : but there is no question of the prerogative. The practice of transportation is unknown at common law, and is regulated by statute ; and one of the disastrous influences hanging over the Colonies is the uncertainty on the matter.

Sir GEORGE GREY insisted that the discretion left to the Crown is ne- cessary to carry out sentences inflicted under the criminal law. He de- nied that the Cape had been made a penal settlement merely because convicts had been sent there : convicts are sent to Gibraltar, and yet that is not a "penal settlement." The very evils ascribed to convict trans- portation require a wide dispersion of the convicts, rather than their ag- gregation in particular colonies. Until transportation be abolished, there- fore, it is desirable not to restrict that dispersion - and though Members who sit at Quarter-Sessions would know how clamorous Magistrates are for sentences of transportation to relieve the county gaols, Sir George did hope that the category of offences for which the punishment is inflicted would be still further reduced.

Sir WILLIAM MoLEsWORTH avowed that his desire was to abolish trans- portation altogether, as bad in itself and odious to the Colonies. Ho showed how dangerous it is to the Colonial empire to provoke that kind of resistance which has prevailed at the Cape of Good Hope and is threat- ened in New South Wales. The Colonies had been taught the wicked- ness of transportation by the report of the Select Committee of 1837, which disclosed the crime existing in New South Wales, and was sent out to the Colonies : that report was signed by Lord John Russell, Sir George Grey, Lord Howick, Mr. Hawes, Sir Robert Peel, Mr. Charles Buller, and Lord Ebrington. When such statements as that report con- tained were made on such high authority, did the House think that the Colonies were likely to submit without a struggle to the evils of trans- portation ?

In the debate which followed, the ATronNEY-GENERAL insisted that the bill would be a direct violation of the prerogative of the Crown, as transportation was originally a commutation of capital punishment, and the Crown appointed the place of exile. [Mr. LAw, who opposed the bill, disputed this point} Sir John also contended, ;hat in the event of differences like that of the Cape, procedure by act of Parliament would not leave open the way for retractation and conciliation which had enabled Government to back out of the difficulty. The bill was also opposed by Lord Tome RussELL and Mr. STANFORD : it was supported by Mr. AGLIONEY and Mr. Hums. On a division, the motion was negatived, by 110 to 32.

TRANSPORTATION TO THE CAPE COLONY, UGC.

Presenting two important petitions from the Cape of Good Hope, which he received last session too late for presentation then, Lord STANLEY ex- pressed his satisfaction that the order in Council authorizing transporta- tion to that colony had been revoked ; and intimated that he should be happy to receive an assurance that it would not be reissued. Earl GREY had no hesitation in giving the assurance. " When the order was passed, it was not intended to act on it generally, but only in one case, until the sentiments of the colonists had been ascer- tained. But the Governinent at borne had been placed in a situation of ex- treme embarrassment by the difficulty of disposing of certain convicts who were then in Bermuda, and who had been sent there in consequence of offences committed during the unfortunate famine which prevailed some time ago in Ireland. The objeetion to sending those tnihappy men to any other colony was extreme, and her Majesty's Ministers were of opinion that the least objectionable mode of disposing of them was to send them to the Cape of Good Hope. It was never intended to send convicts, systematically, to any colony which was not established originally as a penal colony, without the assent of the general body of inhabitants."

Lord BROUGHAM, though he had been much honoured by the confidence of his fellow subjects at the Cape, must tell them that more unjustifi- able proceedings had never been adopted by any set of men than their proceedings against a body of individuals who, though suffering under the sentence of the law, were still their fellow creatures and their fellow countrymen. They had been guilty of extreme cruelty towards those unfortunate people, whom they had not allowed to land although they had been suffering for three months the torments of a sea voyage. Lord STANLEY also thought the colonists had gone much too far in their oppo- s:tion to this order : ho would not vindicate them. Gun QUARREL wrrs Gasses.

Lord STANLEY, adverting to the recent publication in the French capital of information in an official shape regarding our difference with Greece repeated with additions the questions he put to the Government last week: He especially asked whether the mediation of France has been accepted at home after its refusal at Athens ; whether if accepted the mediation extends merely to the claims for indemnity, or also to the territorial claims ; and whether any attempt will be made to take possession of the islands before the mediation is concluded ? The Marquis of LANSDOWNE, drawing a distinction between the proffer of a " mediation " and that of "good offices," and informing the House of the " still wider difference " between a mediation" and an " arbitration," stated that our Government accepted the "good offices " of France, in the same sense in which they were accepted in the dispute which we had with the Ring of Naples some two or three years ago. He repeated, that the territorial questions regard- ing the islands was not included in those peremptorily urged by our Minister and Admiral at Athens ; and the pecuniary claims are the only ones on which the " good offices " of France have been accepted. He had no reason to believe that any such steps would be taken as those contem- plated in the last question. He added, that there is no truth in the state- ment that ships of war have been seized by our cruisers ; though Greek Vessels are confined to a station in which they are under durance. The Earl of ABERDEEN pointed out the disastrous effect of our rash and unjustifiable violence in counteracting the efforts we have so continuously made to rival French influence in Greece.

"You have taught the whole of Greece to consider France as its protector

against British violence; you are yourselves receiving lessons of modera- tion and justice from rance—from Revolutionary and Republican France, with a Bonaparte at her head. (" Hear, hear !" from the Opposition.) The noble Marquis must ]mow—no one better—the sensation which this act of violence has excited in France. If England had not accepted the mediation of France, France must have unavoidably placed herself in an attitude of hostility towards England, or the French Government must have been sha- ken to its foundations—if foundations it has any." Lord Aberdeen denied that he had himself, formerly, as Foreign Minister, urged the cession of these disputed islands. He had done no such thing. Sir E. Lyons had urged such demands a few weeks after Lord Aberdeen's acces- sion to office, but under the instructions of his predecessor only. The noble Marquis had been misled by a familiar from the Foreign Office, who perhaps at that moment was at his elbow. fLord Eddisbury, the Under-Secretary of State for the Foreign Department, was then sitting at no great distance be- hind Lord Lansdowne.] He told the noble Marquis that there was more in that office than was " dreamt of in his philosophy." Yes, there was a fa- miliar of that office then at his elbow, about 'whom it became the noble Marquis to be cautious. Lord EDDISBURY, thus pointedly alluded to, was roused to speak with some warmth.

The present was not a question of interference with foreign countries, but j a question of procuring justice for injured British subjects. He regretted to find that on every occasion the noble Earl took up the cause of those who were, he would not say the enemies of Britain, but who were ready enough to encroach upon the rights of British subjects. The noble Earl knew—and, from his long experience, nobody better—that the countries which refused Justice for wrongs inflicted were generally"Stifili53. A great country- hesitated long before it committed an act of injustice. Our present demands on Greece had no relation to that protectorate of it which we had under- taken to exercise in combination with France and Russia. Censuring Lord Aberdeen for the contumelious tone in which he had spoken of " Revolution- ary and Republican France with a Bonaparte at her head," &c., he emphati- cally eulogized the honesty and &hums with which the Republic and its President have acted towards this country.

PreErn HEAD-MONEY.

On the motion for the second reading of the Pirate (Head-Money) Repeal Bill, Sir FRANCIS BARING explained, that though it repeals the existing acts it does not preclude the Admiralty from making allowances of the nature of head-money ; it would not therefore remove from officers and men of the Navy the expectation of such rewards for valuable ser- vices in the capture of pirates as the old law entitled them to. He pro- posed to leave in the hands of the Admiralty a large discretionary power to be exercised in communication with the Treasury. For the recent suppression of piratical forces, he feared he should have to call on the House for a pretty large vote—as much, he feared, as 100,0001. Mr. HUME apprehended that something had been kept back, and would ask for full information before the half of 100,0001. were voted. Mr. COBDEN and Colonel THOMPSON desiderated evidence that the aboriginal tribes whom we have been slaughtering arc really pirates—that they have ever molested English commerce : they do not appear to have been other than tribes in a state of barbarism carrying on war with each other. The se- cond reading of the bill passed unopposed.

Mistremaza MARINE; SEAMEN'S Frei.n ; MEASUREMENT OF SHIPPING.

On the motion of Mr. LABOUCHERE, the House of Commons, in Com- mittee on his resolution for the improvement of our maritime legislation, considered separately his proposals for improving the Merchant Marine, for better organizing and managing the Merchant Seamen's Fund, and better determining the admeasurement of Merchant Shipping. With the object of improving the condition of the masters, mates, and seamen in the merchant service, and of maintaining discipline therein, it is proposed to constitute a department of the mercantile marine as a part of the Board of Trade, responsible to the country and to Parliament for carrying into effect the provinons Of the law, and exercising a general superintendence over the mercantile marine of this country. The mercantile department of the Board of Trade would therefore include two captains of the merchant service, who would sit as members and assist the President of the Board of Trade m everything that related to the mercantile marine. It is also pro- posed to establish a system of examination of masters and mates in the mer- chant service, to make provision for the discipline of the crews, and to sub- stitute public shipping-officers for the present system of licensed agents. The greatest evils flow from the manner in which the seaman contracts with his employers. The Pallor is a notorious exception from the law that people can take care of themselves better than the state can. The system of interference now in operation was founded on the experience of the evils which lees in- terference produced. It is proposed to establish in the various seaport-towns of this country shipping-offices, in which would be placed Government offi- cers, who, for a very moderate fee, would explain the provisions of the con- tract, and superintend all that relates to the interests of the sailor. For the fees which would be laaid, amounting probably to about 1601. a year, it would not be difficult to find men in the ports of this country—such men as retired captains of merchant vessels, who were living there with their families, and not desirous of going any more to sea—who would readily undertake and per-

form the duties required on the part of these shipping-officers, and whose esta- blished good characters would be a guarantee for the proper discharge of these duties. It is proposed to abolish the present system of registering seamen, and to engraft a better system on the new machinery of the Board of Trade and the shipping-offices ; expressly to give captains holding a first-class certificate the power of imprisonment for certain offences—the power already exists at common law, but captains hesitate to use it in any case short of mutiny because it is not expressly given; and to empower the establishment pro re flatsat distant stations of naval courts for the summary trial, on emergency, of all grave cases of misconduct or want of discipline either in officers or seamen.

The present state of the merchant seamen's fund may be summed up in a few words : it is completely insolvent, and will soon be absolutely bankrupt. It is proposed to carry out the recommendation of Lord Elleuborough's Com- mittee ; to amalgamate the fund with the annual fund of 25,000/. provided by the Trinity Board, and centralize the management of the whole in the hands of that board, subject to the advice and joint administration of the proposed marine department of the Board of Trade. The stun paid by tha sailor is to be raised from the present amount of 6d. to le. per month ; on the other hand, the insufficient dole now given to him when disabled is to be raised to 6(1 per day. As the contribution will not suffice to realize the amount of pension, it is proposed that Parliament shall supply the deficiency of 30,0001. a year.

The admeasurement of shipping was formerly calculated from the length and breadth only of the vessel; the 9th Victoria introduced the element of depth into the calculation : under neither system is the true admeasurement obtained : it is proposed to adopt the correct basis of the vessel's actual ex- ternal cubical displacement of water.

Mr. Labouchere's explanations and proposals were in general favour- ably received by the House the chief doubts coming from Sir Gsonez CLERK, Mr. W. FAGAN, and Mr. CARDWELL, on his proposals regarding the seamen's fund. Mr. HUME and Mr. HEADLAM cordially approved of his proposed abolition of the present system of registration. The resolu- tions were agreed to ; the House resumed, and received the report ; and leave was given to bring in bills.

COUNTY RATING AND EXPENDITURE.

On the order being read for the second reading of the County Rates and Expenditure Bill, Mr. MILNER GIBSON explained, that he had taken charge of the bill at the request of his friend Mr. Hume ; whose earnest desire it is that Councils should be established to control county expendi- ture on a principle similar to the Councils in boroughs.

The county-rates are a matter of no small amount. In the year 1885, when there was an alarm about their increase and the extent to which they had then arrived, the entire sum raised throughout the country was 690,000/. The total at present is no less than 1,300,000/. ; and they have increased in a much greater ratio than the increase of crime or of population. In Ian- cashire, in the year 1834, the county-rate was about 3d. m the pound; it is at present nearly 8d. (about W.) notwithstanding the assessment upon the poor-rates has increased from 4,000,000/. to 6,000,0001. The amount of rate is not only lamer in the pound, but it is assessed upon a greater amount of property. The object of the present bill is merely to give the rate- payers a control concurrent with that of the Magistrates over the county ex- peuditure. In proposing the second reading, Mr. Gibson merely asked the House to affirm the obvious principle that taxation and representation should go together. If the second reading were agreed to lie would propose that the bill should be sent before a Select Committee, where its details could be care- fully examined and arranged; and if the House did not,afterwards approve of it, they might throw it out upon the third reading. Mr. SPOONER requested Mr. Gibson not to press forward the bill : he was in favour of the principle of representative control over the county- rates, but could not lend himself to support this precise measure. He moved the adjournment of the debate. A rather protracted discussion arose on the qUestion of adjournment ; some Members backing Mr. Spooner's request for delay, and Mr. HUME urging Mr. Gibson to stick to his motion, as postponement would but end in defeat. Sir JOHN Paxisro- TON and Sir ROBERT PEEL joined in the request for further time ; hinting that present perseverance might not forward the bill ultimately. Mr. MILNER GIBSON therefore gave way : really he could not stand against this kind of pressure. In reply to Mr. ROEBUCK'S question, what would be the disposition of the Government as regarded the principle of com- bining representation with taxation, Lord Ionic RUSSELL said, that having been himself much concerned in the introduction upon a large scale of that principle, he should, when the question came before them, give his support to the second reading of the bill. The debate was adjourned till Wednesday the 13th of March.

HIGHWAY MANAGEMENT.

Moving for leave to bring in a bill to amend the laws relative to the management of the Highways of England and Wales, Mr. CORNEWALL LEWIS confessed that the insuperable difficulties indicated last session had induced him to relinquish the hope of comprehending the subjects of turnpike roads and of highways in one bill ; he therefore confined his- proposals to the management of the highways and parish roads. Repeat- ing much of the statistical matter which he presented to the House last year, Mr. Lewis explained the main provisions of his bill to be—the vest- ing of the power now in the ratepayers at large, in the Boards of Poor- law Guardians; and the appointment of paid district surveyors, in lieu of the present unpaid parochial surveyors.

He proposed simply to take the existing divisions of the Poor-law Unions and the existing Board of Guardians, and give to them the power of manage- ment. Such an arrangement would render unnecessary any new territorial division. With regard to expenditure, it was proposed to leave the mainte- nance of highways a charge on each parish or township precisely as at pre- sent, the different boards electing paid surveyors. Each parish or township would continue to maintain its own highway ; and the only charge borne in common would be the salary of the surveyor, and compensation to the officers of unions for the additional trouble to which they might be put. The en- tire incidence of the burden on account of highways would therefore remain unchanged. He would entirely abolish the highway-rate by name, and would require the Overseers of the Poor to make a rate for the purposes of the highways, and collect it just as they collect the poor-rates, and pay it over to the Guardians of the Poor. The management of the highway,

would not require that engrossing attention which had to be paid to the ma- nagement of poor relief; and it is proposed that the various boards should appoint standing committees, upon whom would devolve the management of affairs. It is presumed that the members of the boards composing those com- mittees would havebeen accustomed to turn their attentior to the manage- ment of these rates; and that in their management the various bodies would place reliance. The bill met general approbation. Mr. DEEDES confessed a change in his views since last session, and thanked Government for an improvement of a faulty system. Mr. B. DmusoN and Mr. RICE approved of the com- pulsory system of consolidation proposed in lieu of the permissive one HOW existing. Sir ROBERT PEEL, Mr. BLANEY, and Mr. ERNON SXrrH, offered suggestions with their approval ; Sir Robert Peel adding compli- ments to Mr. Lewis for his creditable labours. Sir WILLIAM .Tomiers and Sir HENRY WILLOUGHBY were malecontent, on the ground that no Leave was given : subsequently the Highways Bills was brought in, and change beneficial to agriculture is proposed in the incidence of the rates.

read a first timo.

Ponsic LIBRARIES.

Mr. EWA= obtained leave, on Thursday, to bring in a bill enabling Town-Councils to establish Public Libraries and Museums. He stated that the bill had the unanimous recommendation of the Select Committee of last session on Public Libraries ; and he mentioned instances in which the want of such a measure had been felt.

Subsequently, on the motion of Mr. RWART, the Committee on Public Libraries was reappointed.

SUPPLY OF WATER TO LONDON.

The second reading of the New River Company's Bill having been moved by Mr. VERNON Smarr, Lord ASHLEY reminded the House, that the Secretary for the Home Department had given notice of a motion to the effect that no bill for the formation of a company for the supply of water to the Metropolis, or any part thereof, be read a second time before Easter. It certainly would be unadvisable that, pending the investiga- tion now being carried on by the Board of Health, any investment of capital which might not afterwards receive the sanction of Parliament should take place in these undertakings. Mr. VERNON Same suggested, that Sir George Grey's order applied to the formation of new companies only. Sir GEORGE GREY said that the present bill came within the spirit of his motion if not within its letter. On his suggestion, the motion was withdrawn. Sir GEORGE Garr then moved, and the House ordered, " that no bill for the supply of water for the Metropolis, or any part thereof, be read a second time before Easter."