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PRINCIPAL BUSINESS OF THE WEEK.

Mom OF LORDS. Thursday, May 1. No business of interest.

Friday, May 2. No business of interest.

HorsE OF CONNONS.—Monday, April 28. Ceylon ; Mr. Baillie proposes to take his motion on the on 8th May-Property-tax Bill; second reading opposed by Mr. Spooner, but carried without division-Stamp-duties Assimilation Bill and Exche- quer Bills Bill, read a third time and passed. Tuesday, April 29. Absconded St. Alban's Election Witnesses; Sergeant-at- Arms reports his inability to execute the warrants-Water Supply of London ; leave given to Sir George Grey to introduce the Government Bill-Mr. Ewart's motion for extending to the Colonies the mitigation of the law in respect to punishment by death, stopped by a "count out," at seven o'clock.

Wednesday, April 30. Adjournment of the House over Thursday proposed, and negatived by 52 against 12-St. Alban's Election Witnesses; Address to the Queen for a Proclamation-Exhibition of Industry; Explanation by Mr. Labouchere- Highways (South Wales) Bill, considered in Committee-Farm-Buildings Bill; se- cond reading carried by 66 against 25-Sunday Trading Prevention Bill; Committee opposed, and debate adjourned-Copyhold Lands Enfranchisement; leave for a Bill given to Mr. MuRings-lrish Petty Sessions; leave for a Regulating Bill given to Sir W. Somerville.

Thursday, May 1. Metropolis Water Bill, read a first time-Intramural Burials; Progress of the Board of Health-Oath of Abjuration (Jews) Bill ; second reading carried by 202 to 177-Valuation (Ireland) Bill; Committee postponed-Civil Bills (Ireland) Bill; read a second time, and referred to a Select Committee. Friday, May 2. Metropolitan Buildings Bill, withdrawn by Lord Seymour, for considerable alterations-Riders in Kensington Gardens ; Mr. Hume's objections- Diocesan Synod of Exeter; Statement by Lord John Russell-Passports in England; Explanation by Lord Palmerston-Income-tax; Mr. Hume's Motion for limiting the tax to one year, carried against Ministers, by 244 to 230-Ecclesiastical Titles Bill, postponed from Monday next to that day week-Select Committees on the Law of Mortmain (Hr. Headlam) and the law of Church-rates (Mr. Trelawny) nominated.

TIME- TABLE,

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Sittings this

this

The Lords.

Hour of Hour of Meeting. Adjournment. No sitting. No sitting. No sitting.

5h 5h lens

5h .... 5h 20m

Monday

Tuesday Wednesday Thursday

Friday Sittings this this The Commas.

Hour of Hour of Meeting. Adjournment,

9h .... 7h Om

4h so Om Noon .... 5h 50m

Ch 121, 30in

40 ..(sO lh 30m

Week, 2; Time, Oh 40in

Session, 42; — 71h 50m

Week, 5; Time, 25b, 30nt Session. 50; —3280 5m

PROPERTY-TAX.

The motion by Mr. SPOONER against the Property-tax, as an ineome- tax pressing most unequally upon many of the great interests of the country, did not provoke any important debate. Mr. Spooner quoted equally from the great men of all parties who have dilated upon the oppressiveness and iniquitous injustice of this tax ; including Sir Robert Peel, and Lord Stanley himself. Towards the end of his speech, he diverged to objections which he entertained to the repeal of the Brick- duties and the Timber-duties ; alleging in respect to the former, that bricks are now within a shilling of the price paid for them before the re- peal. Mr. MUNTZ seconded the motion of Mr. Spooner to put off the second reading of the bill for six months, with a speech grounding his objections to the measure on his experience of its especial effects among the small manufacturers who are numerous among his constituents: he has known some of these surcharged three and four times without hope of remedy, because an exposure of their books would be an injurious exposure of their concerns. He corrected Mr. Spooner as to bricks; saying he has himself paid 8s. less than he did. Mr. FRPSHFIELD delivered his first remarks in the House upon this measure : his objections seemed to have chief reference to the unfair operation of the tax on tenant-farmers, and to be of a kind which he could again urge in Committee. Sir CHARLES WOOD replied without much defensive exertion ; taking ad- vantage of the discrepancy between Mr. Spooner and Mr. Muntz on the price of bricks ; putting aside Mr. Freshfleld's detailed objections as titter for the stage of Committee ; and reminding the House that if the bill were thrown out there would be a deficiency of one million this year and of three and a half millions next year. The House seemed willing to get rid of the motion easily. On the suggestion, very complimentarily con- veyed, by Mr. Disasms to the mover, that it was scarcely necessary to divide, Mr. SPOONER for a moment consented to withdraw his motion; but after a pause, he said he would rathet laa,vsfit negatived. It was there- fore put and negatived.

JEHDHL On.TH OF AilstiliASKON.

The debate on the second reading of -the Oath of Abjuration Bill was wholly uninteresting. Mr. NEWDEGATE supported his motion, that the bill be read ream:end time that day six mouths, bin speech repeating the old objections to the measure, and strengthening them by reference to the experience of France and the eiample of Prussia. “ Since the admission of Jews into the Parliament of France, the church of that country has gradually been alienated from the state ; the character and constitution of that church, which were eminently national, have been gradually superseded by Ultramontane principles, and the clergy are gra- dually leaning more and more towards Borne." The Cabinet of Prussia has refused to consent to the admission of Jews into Parliament unless they _re- nounce the anti-social and anti-national doctrines of the Talmud ; and the Jews have cast back the offer made under that condition.

Lord JOHN Russms, again explained, that he thinks the preponderance -the slight preponderance-of argument is against the opinion supported by the high authority of the late Mr. Charles Wynn, that a Jewish Mem- ber can take the oath as Baron Rothschild took it, omitting the words " on the faith of a Christian."

Deference to the House of Lords is an additional reason with him for not acting on Mr. Wynn's view. But if the House of Commons acts with such deference to the House of Lords on a question affecting the election of Mem- bers of the House of Commons only, the House of Lords ought on the other hand to consider what is fairly due to the people of the United Kingdom and the privileges of the Commons House of Parliament, and to the general feeling in favour of removing all political and civil disabilities from the Jews on ac- count of their religious belief. The other speakers in favour of the bill were, Mr. Rommea,-who made a counter-attack of some personal sharpness on Mr. Newdegate, in retaliation for personal references to him by Mr. Newdegate in an un- charitable spirit ; the SOLICITOR-GENERAL ; and Mr. J. A. Slurs ; on the other side, Mr. WIGRAM, Sir ROBERT INGLIS Mr. GOULBITRN, and Colonel Simmons ; the last also throwing in an objurgation against the Crystal Palace, and the Archbishop who had invoked a blessing upon it !

On a division, the amendment was negatived by 202 to 177; and the bill was read a second time. The announcement of numbers, hOwever, was received with cheers by the Opposition.

WATER SUPPLY TO THE METROPOLIS.

Sir GEORGE GREY explained the principle of the bill which Govern- ment proposes to bring in for the better supply of water to the Metropolis. Committees of the House' Commissions under the authority of the Crown, and the Board of Health, have put the House in possession of a great mass of information upon the subject. It is now admitted that some great and essential change must be made. The results anticipated from competition have not been realized. During i a time, deed, a fierce competition existed ; but that has now ceased : the nine Companies have divided the Metropolis into nine districts, which each Company occupies separately, and the admin- istration of the supply is irresponsible as to the sources, the quality, and the cost of the supply. What substitute shall Government propose in lieu of a system that has failed to answer the objects with which Parliament granted the separate acts of the Companies? The Board of Health has given its elaborate and able report on this difficult and embarrassing question. Their first conclu- sion Sir George takes to be an admitted one-that the existing sources of supply shall be altogether abandoned, as incapable of furnishing the water of the quality essential for the use of the Metropolis. But they proceeded to recommend that the water for the Metropolis should be sought for from new and untried sources ; that recourse should be had to a district in the neighbourhood of Farnham and Bagshot, and that rain-water should there be collected in gathering-grounds and be brought from those grounds in pipes to London. Further and subsequent inquiries modified this opinion of the Board as to the new sources of supply; and while still recommending recourse to the same district, they suggested, that instead of rain-water being collected in gathering-grounds, sufficient spring-water might be found. This change of opinion denotes the caution and circumspection with which the Board arrives at its conclusions. The Government, however, re- gard the question of supply as one open to dispute ; as not yet in a state to enable them to express a decided opinion or propose a definite scheme in that respect. They have submitted all the documents to Mr. Graham, Dr. Miller' and Dr. Hoffman, together with the evidence given by men of com- petent authority with respect to the Lea Trust-some of it directly contrary to that laid before the Board of Health, with the object of learning from those eminent men of science to what extent the existing means of supply may be retained. The minute investigations which they commenced have not been far enough prosecuted for them to report as yet.

Meanwhile, the Government, looking to the position of the bills now sus- pended, are induced to lay before the House the scheme by which they pro- pose to place more under responsible public control the public body, what- ever it be, to which the duty of the Metropolitan supply of water shall be in- trusted.

The Board of Health recommended, that instead of a plurality of boards there be a combined system of management. Such an arrangement obviously promises increased efficiency at a diminished cost : it may be assumed that there should be one management, and one locality. The machinery of this combined system they proposed to frame on the analogy of that which is made applicable to country towns under the Public Health Act : but the pe- culiar case of London is so distinct from that of every other place, that the machinery of the Public Health Act is not applicable to it without modifica- tions. If there were a municipality, or any immediate or easy means of constituting a representative system applicable to the whole of what is gene- rally termed the Metropolis,-or if you could provide such a system as at Liverpool and elsewhere enables you to act through the constitutional agency which is the most satisfactory agency of administration in districts where such municipalities exist,-then the difficulty might be overcome; but in the absence of corporate government, or of any analogous constitutional ma- chinery over large portions of the Metropolis, there are no means by which you can insure the responsibility of a local body to the citizens. The Board of Health therefore recommended, that a Government board should be erected with the necessary powers, which it should exercise immediately under the control of the Government, and so mediately under the control of Parliament. But the Government feels the objections to this plan to be formidable and eat ; and that nothing but necessity would warrant them in creating a board of salaried officers. If, however, there is no municipality, and if you hesitate to establish a board, there remains only the mode of effecting your object through the means of the Companies themselves. Briefly recommend- ing the principle of this mode, by argument, and by the authority of Mr. John Stuart Mill, Sir George Grey proceeded to explain that the Government scheme will take this general form. It is proposed to consolidate the stock of the existing Companies into one stock, which shall be valued by arbitration at a fair and liberal rate ; to eon-

solidate the establishments of the existing Companies, and then to allot the new stock to the shareholders in the proportion of the value of the stock at present held by each of them. The new body shall be secured against all competition by preventing the embarkation of any new capital in schemes of this nature ; it shall be empowered to receive a limited dividend, not ori- ginally greater than five per cent, but capable of increase to six per cent after a certain reduction of the rates, yet incapable of any increase above six per cent ; it shall be subject to the control of the Treasury as to the quality and quantity of the supply, and as to the rates, and to a Government audit of accounts ; and the Government shall have the power to purchase its rights and property. In fact, the arrangement will be of the nature of a contract between the Government and the new body ; and there is no doubt that if the existing Companies were out of the way altogether, a new company might be found willing to undertake the supply. But it was only fair to offer the existing Water Companies the first offer ; and they have met the communications made to them in a fair and reasonable spirit. The bill being of a mixed character—private as well as public—it must be sent before a Select Committee; and there the mode of amalgamation, the principle of valuation,. and many other points, may be fitly discussed and settled. Con- sidering the magnitude of the interests involved, no doubt some delay will also take place before the Standing Orders Committee.

Indications of opinion were given by Sir JOHN .Tonstsrmex and Sir Wimaam CLAY, as owners of water company property and directors of the two great corporations ; and by Mr. BAILLIE COCHRANE, Mr. HUME, Sir BENJAMIN HALL, Lord EBRINGTON, and Mr. Mowarr, as independent critics in the popular interest. The representatives of the Companies ex- pressed a marked complaisance towards the scheme, and at the temper in which Government proposes to deal with existing interests. Sir Witaave CLAY avowed that /te would prefer that Government should take the whole management of the water supply into its own hands. Some of the other speakers feared that the scheme would only strengthen, by consolidating, the monopoly of the existing Companies. Mr. HUME and Sir BENJAMIN HALL protested respectively against "paying the shareholders for all the waste they have been guilty of"—paying the Companies for "a great deal of stock and plant which would be of no use whatever."

Lord EBRINGTON expressed regret that such a proposition had been made by a Government to which he is sincerely attached on personal and private grounds, and which has done more for the cause of sanitary re- form than all preceding Administrations.

He feared that the Government had considered rather what private inte- rests would allow them to pass than what the interests and rights of the public would dictate ; and that here, as in the case of Smithfield Market, they had overestimated the amount of opposition to which a sanitary scheme founded on sound and comprehensive principles would be liable, and under- estimated the amount of support it would conciliate. The scheme seems to give up one point of the greatest importance recommended by the greatest authorities and by the Board of Health—the combination of water supply with drainage, by which there might be made a saving of one-eighth in earth-works alone. If the area of the whole Metropolis is too vast to be go-. -earned by a single body, it might be divided into two districts, North and South of the Thames. Lord Ebriegton did not agree with Mr. Hume that it is best to leave the water-supply to private enterprise, and that the only remedy for present evils is to let in further competing capital : both on politi- cal ana economical principles the water-supply of any community should be taken out of the trading category and dealt with on different principles : to alienate it to companies for ever, is utterly indefensible. On the point of compensation to the existing companies, he observed that neither their treat- ment of their predecessors, of each other, nor of the public, entitles them to any special liberality from Parliament.

Leave was given to introduce the bill.

INTRAMURAL BURIALS.

Sir GEORGE GREY informed Mr. Williams, that the Board of Health has failed to obtain possession by voluntary cession of any of the ceme- teries possessed by the Metropolitan Companies and is therefore about to take the necessary steps for obtaining compulsory possession of some of them. The Board is also treating for a piece of ground which they may open, immediately as a burial-ground, and so be enabled to close some of the grave-yards in the Metropolis.

SUNDAY TRADING IN LONDON.

The motion by Mr. Wrizesses to consider in Committee his measure for restraining Sunday trading in London, called forth the same strenuous opposition from Mr. ANSTEY, Mr. BARING WALL, and Mr. LENNARD, which has been offered at previous stages; on the ground that the bill is ;partial and tyrannical, as well as of bad general principle. The House was cleared for a division, but no division was taken ; and the debate was adjourned for a fortnight.

PUBLIC ADVANCES FOR FARM-BUILDINGS.

The second reading of the Farm-Buildings Bill, a measure which would seem to have been introduced by Mr. BAILLIE COCHRANE on be- half of agriculture upon the hints given by the Chancellor of the Exche- quer when he made his first Budget statement, was opposed by Mr. TRE- LAWNEY' Mr. Mumsr aos, Mr. HUME, and Mr. Mites, on various grounds, iniperfeetly heard by the reporters. The House, however, sanctioned the advance of the bill this stage, by 66 against 25.

REENACTMENT OP THE NAVIGATION-LAWS.

Mr. Hammes presented a petition from the shipowners of London, call- ing the attention of the House to the fact exhibited by Parliamentary tables, that British shipping declined seven per cent last year in compari- son with the preceding year, while foreign shipping increased twenty- one per cent ; complaining, that Baltic ships now compete with British shipping in importing Canadian timber hither, that freights from all parts of the world have so diminished as to materially injure the trade and commerce of the country, that we get none of that reciprocity from foreign countries which was promised, but only additional competition at home and exclusion abroad; and urging that the interests of the ship- owners at the present time are really so depressed as to demand the serious attention of the House. The petition will be printed, and Mr. Herries will submit it to the particular attention of the House as soon as he can find oceasion to make it the subject of discussion.

IRISH VALUATION: IRISH LAW-REFORM.

After the second reading of the Jewish Oaths Bill, on Thursday, Sir DENHAM NORREYS objected to proceeding with the Valuation (Ireland) Bill, on sec...I:mut of the late hour (eleven); and after a remark by Sir Wm, meat Somenvitte., that it is extremely difficult to please the Irish Mem- ber as to times, and a proteet that if the bill hereafter fall through from delays the responsibility will rest on the Irish Members, the Committee on the Valuation Bill was postponed. Mr. Sanrarn then objected similarly to progress with the Civil Bills (Ireland) Bill. But Sir WILLIAM SOMERVILLE would not again yield, and Mr. F, FRENCH and Colonel RAWDON supported him. The bill was therefore read a second time, and referred to a Select Committee.

THE ABSCONDED ELECTION WITNESSES.

In answer to the SPEAKER, on Tuesday, the Sergeant-at-Arms reported, that he has used all diligence, without success, to execute the Speaker's warrants for the arrest of George Seeley Waggett and John Hayward, who refused to attend and give evidence before the St. Alban's Election Committee. During the recess, the Inspector of Police has been devoting his entire attention to the discovery of a clue to their retreat, but without

BMWS&

Next day, on the motion of Lord Jews RUSSELL, the House addressed the Crown, praying her Majesty to proclaim a reward for the discovery and apprehension of Waggett and Hayward, James Ske.gg and Thomas Birchmore.

Some general criticisms were passed by Mr. BANKES and Mr. STUART on the whole conduct of the case by the St. Alban's Committee. Mr. BANKES gave notice, that when Mr. Ellice makes his motion for a Royal Commission of inquiry, he will move as an amendment that the Com- mission consist of Members of the House, who shall investigate without delay the whole proceedings. Mr. STUART suggested, that what the House already knew raised important considerations as to the position of the sitting Member. Mr. Hume ranged into the general question of the ne- cessity for a reformed representation, shown by the proceedings on this Committee : the House will ever be occupied by such eases, unless all the constituencies be increased to at least a thousand. Mr. ELLICE, Chairman of the Committee, briefly vindicated its proceedings; which had been most maturely considered, and well advised. Lord Joitte Reset:la, confessed, that from his experience he did not believe that raising the constituencies to one or two thousand electors, would be a complete guarantee against anything like bribery—witness Norwich and Notting- ham ; and he could mention examples of great purity in boroughs of not more than two or three hundred electors.

INCIDENTS OF THE EXHIBITION OF INDUSTRY.

At the mid-day assemblage of the House of Commons on Wednesday, Lord JOHN RUSSELL moved that the adjournment on rising be unto six o'clock (instead of four o'clock) next day—far the convenience of Mem- bers desiring to attend the opening of the Exhibition of Industry. Sir ROBERT Leeras suggested that any argument good for adjourning till six was equally good for adjourning over the day altogether and giving Mem- bers a whole holyday. He moved the adjournment till Friday ; and Mr. FEARGUS O'Costeon seconded the motion. Mr. Mems suggested a diffi- culty in connexion with the swearing in of the Harwich Election Com- mittee, fixed for Thursday. Lord JOHN RUSSELL objected to give up the whole day. It might be that Sir Robert Inglis objected to some of the orders standing for Thursday, but that could not be a reason with Lord John for consenting to the adjournment over Thursday. The House di- vided, and negatived the amendment by 52 to 12. Mr. Humn questioned Mr. Labouchere on the resolution of the Exhibi- tion Commission to exclude the exhibitors, unless as the bearers of seasone tickets, from the public ceremony of opening the Exhibition. Mr. Lee BOUCHERE stated that the Queen had received the petition of the exhibitors for gratuitous admission, agreed to in public meeting, and had referred it to the Royal Commission, who had considered it with a strong desire to deal with it liberally. There had already been about 20,000 season- tickets issued ; the exhibitors number about 15,000, and in addition to them there would be the immensely numerous class who by acting as chair- men of local committees and otherwise gained a claim equal to that of the exhibitors to be admitted gratuitously. Capacious as the building is, it would be unequal to this combined demand. It is, however, the inten- tion of the Queen to visit the building on one of those Satuiklay mornings when the general public is usually excluded, during the progress of in- ternal arrangements : the exhibitors will then be admitted, and will have the gratification of showing to her Majesty articles which she desires to inspect more particularly.