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    410 THE LEADER, % [Saturday,

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    IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. THE SARDINIAN CONTI...

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    The Week Which Begins With The Announcem...

    claims of sectarianism with the national duty of educating the people has been kicked into one vast hole by his dear frieud Mr . Henusy . So the y oung Tories and the Tory press are disappointed in their hopes of Tory progress , and the crjtb will not move forward ufW- ^ Sfr . HE *«| pr «* ncluded , amid loud cheers , wi &| the neat sentiment that the Bible , from Genesis **^ Revelations , tolls us t h at t h e tree o f k now l e dge , is not the rom & tto life . Of course ; o © t : bej ^ j & pl ignoraneet ; 4 * ' the road to life , pointed out by H eaven , and patr o n i sed by the Squire .

    The amended Cambridge Bill has come out , without any national improvement . The Constitution remains the same . If Cambridge wautx such a constitution instead of common ireedaai , it must be as queer as Spain , where two and two make five . There are to be eight Commissioners , three of wiwan are to be a quorum ; a bad arrangement , since the same business may obviously come before totally different bodies at different meetings . The Commissioners , as usual in such cases , are grandees , whose names sound well in Parliament , but who cannot be expected to give their time and thoug hts to t h e w o r k .

    Mr . Spooneb has made an attempt to pull down an Irish school—the College of Maynooth . His plea was the old one—that Maynooth trains a peculiarly low and ultra-Roman class of clergy ; and he fortified his case in this instance by showing that the report of the Commissioners had been garbled by some of the witnesses , who had had proofs of their evidence to correct . For all good purposes , Sir Robert Peel laid that subject at rest in 1845 , and no Government which cares for

    its own credit or safety will endeavour to reopen the question . Maynooth is the Sebastopol of Ireland , and has to be " turned" in another way . It is not by storming that college , but by trusting to the public education , which is more complete in Ireland than in England , and by waiting the effect , of the Queen's Colleges in creating a mass of educated enlightenment - for Ireland , that any bigotry which survives in the asylum at Maynooth may be swamped .

    Another kind of education has been bestowed upon the English public this week . Buraitelli if as hanged at the Old Bailey on Monday morn - ing . His little girl has become the object of a very meritorious charity , and she will be provided for . His worst anxiety , therefore , must have been alleviated before death . A priest refused to administer the last- offices of religion , unless he would forswear the earthly attachment under whose impulse he had committed the crime of murder . So , Bubawelu was , perforce , compelled to seek the kind offices of Father Gavazzi , and

    Protestantism may boast of its casual convert ! At the scaffold the prisoner behaved well . The professional gentleman who assisted his departure from this world—Mr . Caj-cbaft , did not succeed so completely as usual , deceived , it is said , b y t h e extremely light weight of the convict . The crowd was deeply moved by horror and p ity . The paroxysm spectacle lasted for a few minutes ; and then toe crowd dispersed to its usual business or recreations—how much the wiser on the usbject of murder it would be difficult for any man to understand !

    410 The Leader, % [Saturday,

    410 THE LEADER , % [ Saturday ,

    Imperial Parliament. The Sardinian Conti...

    IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT . THE SARDINIAN CONTINGENT . Toe Earl of Ellenborouou , on Monday , wished to know whether any convention exists with Sardinia as to the supply of food for her contingent , and whether the Commissary-General in the Crimea , when he was applied to , replied that ho should bo unable to supply the required amount of provisions . —Lord Panmure said that there is an understanding with the Sardinian Government that after the first month the British Commissariat should bo charged to supply rations for the Sardinian troops . Commissary-General Filder hod at first expressed alarm on this point ; but subsequent inquiries had proved that the resources of Turkey arc ampl y s uffici en t to provide food for any number of troops that might be lent thither .

    WtnfWD assured * was true . —The Duke of Cambridge said he was afraid it was too true that the Guards had been sent out armed-with the old musket . A large portion of theirclothing and shoes had Jadso been left behind ; and there could be no doubt that some great mismanagement had occurred in the embarkation of these troops . —Liord Panmcsk said that it was very desirable that such cases should be made public , as otherwise the heads of departments would not be made aware of the real facts . He had taken steps to express his opinion on the subject to those who were in faulfc .

    tUe noblfclord that thetatement The Militia ( Irefewd ) Bill was read a third time , on the motffom of . Lord JJanmure . THE « JABDS . r- OFFICIAL MISMANAGEMENT . * The M « nuis of Salisbdrt having called the attention of JQ * rd Pakmore to the want of management whiclrtifrd been shown . au the War Detriment-in th * j «* e of ** he Guasd ^* ecentljf desp «« fc « lie « i : * o the Crltoea inti « he steamiHip Alma , Lord Pan amp excuiai theriMistakes tJt » t kad . e n made ,. anil , with resaact torifce complain tbatt the Guards i \* A been seotcout « fg » ed with ifee oldi musket , saidi # j » t . he coul * n * # «* teve aupM ^ staiWent to b U ^ -Lord

    THE . BAX . AKLAVA TKLECRAPH . In answer to Mr . Warner , Sir Charles Wood stated that the telegraphic line from the seat of war is now complete with the exception of crossing the Danube ; and that a despatch had that day been received from Lord Raglan , dated the day before , which did not contain any news , and most certainly conveyed no intimation of the raising of the siege of Sebastopol—nothing more than a temporary discontinuance of the fire of the batteries . He added , in reply to Mr . Geogas , that the Government would publish any information -it might receive from the camp " whenever there is anything of sufficient interest to render it desirable . " This statement was received with ironical cheers .

    SALARIES IN THE CIVIL SERVICE . Mr . Macabtket asked whether it was intended to charge the Income-tax upon the full amount of those salaries in the civil service which were subject to deductions for the Superannuation Fund , and whether the Government intended to propose any bill to regulate the Superannuation fund?—The Cuanc ellob of the Exchequer replied that tiie Government were not prepared to exempt from the Income-tax

    those civil servants who had taken office subsequent to the Superannuation Act , because it would be necessary , if they did so , to extend a similar exemption to other public officers who , although they did not contribute to the Superannuation Fund , might be supposed to lay aside a part of their annual income to insure their lives or provide for the contingencies of life . A bill to alter the Superannuation Act was under consideration ; but he could not mention a day upon . which it would be introduced .

    THE VIENNA CONFERENCES . Mr . Disraeli asked Lord JonN Ritssell ( who had just taken the oaths and his seat consequent on his re-election for the City of London ) whether it was hia intention to lay on the table any papers relating to his recent mission to Vienna , or in any other way to place the House in possession of the proceedings of the last two mouths in connexion with the Conferences . Lord John Russell said the protocols of the Conferences , which would be very shortly laid upon tho table , would convey to the House information of the substance of the negotiations . In the meantime , he stated that the negotiations with respect to the first two of the Four Points lasted until the 26 th of March , when the Third Point came under

    consideration , and the Austrian plenipotentiaries suggested that those of Russia should mako proposals themselves ; but the latter replied that they had no instructions to do so , and asked for time to refer to their Government . The Conference was accordingly adjourned , and was not resumed until the 17 th of A pri l , when the Russian plenipotentiaries stated that they had received instructions not to take the initiative , but to hear and discuss any proposal submitted to the Conferences . On the 19 th , the plenipotentiaries of Great Britain and Fflfciice , suppor t ed by thoeo of Austria , laid before the Conference their propositions , which were rejected on the 21 » t by the Russian plenipotentiaries , who , on their part , offered proposals which the other plenipotentiaries deemed unacceptable , and they declined to diacuefl them .

    Mr . Disraeli then endeavoured to obtain a promise from the Government that they would produce some preliminary papers , such as the despatches of our ambassadors and plenipotentiaries ; but Lord Palmkuston objected to thin , and dexterously eluded giving any information an to what additional documents would bo produced . Mr . DiHraeli ' * cross-qucstioningH , ami Lord Palmereton ' n evasive answers , elieited tho usual Parliamentary explosions of laughter . In answer to a que 9 tion from Mr . Bahw , Lord

    JoittlJJPSSELL said that Turkey was in accord with Ufc © PWW *!* aJS « fl England , France , and Austria . ' 1 . ' JLOAN BILL . Oil tHe . jO ^ der of the day for the consideration of this' bill' W , a me n ded , Sir Fitzroy Kelly moved that thavSaniiclause be struck out . By that clause the Gov « Bnwent «; icalled on the House to pledge itself to the payment of one million sterling a year in time of > peao % . till * he amount of the loan was repaid € uch a Jjledge was unconstitutional ; he did not thinkL . maM , ven "those who advocated it , really and . QQnftBtentfotgtfx believe *} it would ever be de facto jnpdecmed . 1 Pa % t expeii * nce showed them that such a pledge would jpot be redeemed . How could we tell

    * vhetheir > . it would be practicable to redeem this pledge , or , if practicable , whether it would be politic ? He considered that it wpuld be impracticable ,, and he , therefore ,, made the present motion . The CHASiOHM / on ojr th » Exgiikquf . ii had explained on a former occasion the grounds of the clause . The Government , when engaged in negotiating a new loan for so large a sum as sixteen millions , had wished to establish as far as possible the principle that no part of the loan should remain a perpetual charge an the revenue . They found it impossible to contract a loan for so large a sum in terminable annuities ; and if they had made an un .

    successful attempt to do so , it would have placed them in such a position that they could not afterwards have contracted any loan on such favourable terms as they had now obtained . He then proceeded , to show that there were no other means of contracting the loan to which the House would have been likely to assent ; but he admitted that , if any unexpected exigency should arise during the period to which the clause refers , it might be necestary for Parliament to suspend its operation . Even , however , in the present year , when the nouse is contracting a new Joan , as large a sum as 2 , 000 , 000 / . is being applied in the extinction of debt ; and fc > ir G . C . Lewis could not but think that this clause affords

    a fair prospect of liquidating the debt which is now being created . Mr . Gladstone spoke in favour of the amendment , and repeated the objections to the clause which he had urged on a previous night . He observed that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had said there was at all events one advantage in this clause , namely , that it would secure the actual application of the money to the reduction of the national debt . He ( Mr . Gladstone ) did not think that effect was certain . In the year after the conclusion of the war the Government of the day would either have a

    surplus or they would not . If they had a surplus , the clause would be entirely inoperative , or rather it would do positive mischief . As the law now stands , the Chancellor of the Exchequer would be bound to app ly tlie million for the reduction of the debt , in whatever form he might tliink most expedient , taking his choice among all the commodities in the market ; whereas , under the clause , he would have to confine himself to Three per Cent . Consols , and it might become his duty to rendur that provision nugatory by a roundabout process , which , iu Mr . Gladstone ' s opinion , would be very objectionable .

    The motion was supported by Mr . Heslkv , Mr . Laboucuebk , Air . Rica uuo , Mr . Dihkakli , -Mr . M'Grecor , ami Mr . Cahdwkll ( the last of whom observed that , if a similar clause had been adopted in connexion with the loans contracted in the last war , we should now bo paying , in tho liquidation of debt alone , a larger sum than was expended in the year 1853 in all the services of tho country ) . The speakers in favour of the original clause Mere , in addition to the Cjuanckllor of the Exchequer , Mr . Baring , Mr . James Wilson , Mr . Cii . vN , and Lord Palmekston ; and the chief argument employed was that it is but honest to provide for the gradual extinction of a debt , instead of leaving it n perpetual burden upon posterity . —Upon a division , there appeared—For the clause , 21 O ; against , 111 : mnjority , 99 . Sir Fitzroy Kci . lv ' s motion was therefore lost .

    JNCOMK-TAX BILL . The House having gone into Committee ! on the Income-tax Bill , Mr . I 1 ili > yari > moved , and Colonel Himtiiori' seconded , an amendment to the effect that tho additional tax paid upon incomes between 100 / . and 150 / . per annum should be lid . instead i > 1 ^» - ' » the pound . —This was agreed to by tho Chamku . ok of tiik Exchequer , ami adopted by the Committee . NKWHl'APER STAMP DUTIES HILL . Tho Ilouao then went into Committee on tins

    bill ; and the Ciiancki . lok of tiik Ex «• iikqi'ku stated that ho wiih willing to omit clauses , r » . ftntl 7 , and to make certain alterations in clause (>¦ 1 "esc clauses had reference to rcK iatratiou mid si-cunt ) , and had been postponed from the nrcviou * reading owing to Home difllcultics which had Ik-i-ii mikk < ' * ll > l : —Clause 0 was then u « n > ud to with ct > rliun vciw iuneiidinenta rendered necessary by the oiiiihmoii oi tho other clause . —Two cIhuhi'h , ri-npectm'ly i' »»' inff tho privilege of postal triiiiHiiiinHum to | ' ^ days from the da to of publication , and riItl , b to tho Pobtiuastor-General all disputed qucuuou

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), May 5, 1855, page 2, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_05051855/page/2/