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    M&T X% 1855.] THE Ju E A D B.B. ^86

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    TnE SEBASTOPOL COMMITTEE. MONDAY. StR Ti...

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    Imperial Parliament. Mismanagement Of Th...

    Fohbtbr ; and opposed by Mr . Napier * Lord Dtw oan , Mr . WalpoiBj Mr . Phtllimore , and € teoR « E Grey . —The Lord * Advocate , thinking taat the bill was a meritorious step towards remed ing an acknowledged evil ^ said he would not oppose the second reading , though he doubted if the mea sure would put a stop to the marriage ' s complained of . —This , indeed , was the opinion generally taken by the opposers of the bill ; and Mr . Walpo pointed out that , as it was contemplated merely impose a penalty upon the infringers of the law , marriages would still take place between those rich enough to pay for them—which , he said , would laying down one law for the rich , and another for the poor : The Ecclesiastical Property ( Ireland ) Bill passed through committee . MARRIAGE LAW AMENDMENT BILL . The adjourned debate on the second reading , this bill was opened by Sir W . Heathcote , who observed that , if there existed only a doubt as to the TJivine prohibition of marriage with a deceased wife ' s sister , the House ought not to assume the serions responsibility of passing the bill . —Mr . Phinn insisted that no one could point out a direct prohibi tion of such marriages in the Scriptures ; and that if there was really any objection founded in the moral law , there would be implanted in mankind horror of these contracts . A similar view was taken by Mr . Lowe , who said that , in the absence of any direct Divine law , we must appeal to the huma conscience . —To this , Mr . Gladstone replied by demanding " what is meant by conscience?—the general conscience of individuals , or the private con science of each person ? " As regards the first , he contended that that is sufficiently expressed by the law as it stands ; and , with respect to the latter , he said that private conscience is not alone concerned He warned those who use the 18 th verse of the 18 th chapter of Leviticus as a sanction for these marriages , that the same verse might be employed to sanction polygamy . He defied any one to show that the phrase " near of kin" does not include a wife' sister ; and he condemned the bill as being a demand for a law to establish an anarchy in the Church of England and the country at large . —Mr . Spooner supported the bill ; and Mr . Cobtden replied to " the splendid fallacies" of Mr . Gladstone , who had endea voured to establish an analogy between bigamy and marriage with a deceased wife ' s sister , the latter being sanctioned by almost all the states of the Continent . The charge of bringing anarchy into the Church was met by Mr . Cobden by the assertion that half our clergymen in the metropolis , and a large proportion in the manufacturing districts , are in favour of the change . The women of England , also , he said , are for an alteration in the law ; and the Jews themselves have stated that they consider such marriages legal and proper . —The bill was further supported by Mr . Phillimoue , and opposed by Mr . Koundell Palmer ; and the second reading was carried by 165 to 157 . TIIE VIENNA CONFERENCES . Earl Grey on Thursday gave the following notice for Monday , the 21 st inst .: " That an humble address be presented to her Majesty , to thank her Majesty for having ordered the protocols of the recent negotiations at Vienna to be laid before us ; to inform her Majesty that this House deeply deplores the failure of the attempt to put an end , by these negotiations , to the calamities of the war in which the country is now engaged ; and to express our opinion that the proposals of Russia were such as to afford a fair prospect of concluding a peace by which all the original ' objects of the war might have been gained , and by which her Majesty and her allies might have obtained all the advantages which can reasonably be demanded from Kussia . "—The Earl of Clauendon laid on the table a copy of the protocols of the Vienna Con- fereuces . JTISHEJUES ( BRITISH ISLANDS ANJD FRANCE ) BILL . This bill was read a second time on the motion of Lord Stanley ov Alihsklic y , avIio explained its object to bo the better carrying out of the provisions of the treaty of 1839 , which dollnes the limits within which the fishermen , of cither country are to fish . It appeared that the English fishermen havo disregarded the treaty , and havo frequently encroached upon French waters ; and that , until the lust two or three years , the French , who have faithfully observed tho treaty , have betm obliged to send out armed bouts , by which the English fishenuun havo been tuken into Dieppe . SKCONO HEAJMNU . Tho Church Patronage Tranwl'or Bill was read a second time . TILE BKnASTOFOL COMMITTED . A moBHage was brought up by Mr . Roebuck and other mombors of tho Houso of CoinniouH , asking leave to examine the Earl of Aberdeen and Lord Do Hub as wiUuoaaos before tlio SebuBtopol Inquiry ( Join- mil tec . —On tho motion of the I Juke of Akos ' ll , leave w » a given . THE ADMIRALTY COURT : BREACH OF BLOCKADE . Sir Q . B . Pisoiikll begged to ask tho First Lord ¦ ¦ ¦

    - Sir y-- le to the be of - , n - . j ; s > i ] j t - i e 2 s c t i q r . t i 11 j ^ ft . . .. " . ^ , w tyi be iti nc si < th so th nC n- I of the Admiralty if his attention had been called to 5 ir the case of the vessel named Osfgee , seized by her ng Majesty ' s ship Alban for breach of blockade , and y- restored without cost by decree of tlie Admiralty se Court , but on appeal costs and damages were a- awarded against the captain of the Alban ; and to sd inquire if the officers of her Majesty ' s ships , under ; n such circumstances , are to be held responsible for jE such expenses . — Sir Charles Wood believed that to the facts were as stated by his hon . and gallant le friend , but no application on the subject had yet : h been made to him by the parties interested in the > e decision , and he did not thi ^ k it w « uld be prudent » e for him to state then in the House his © pinion on a matter that might be brought formally before him . ** LORD DUNDONALD ' S INVENTION .- —MR . LAVARD ' S MOTION . Lord Palmerston , in reply to Mr . French , said > f the plans of the Earl of Dundonald had been sub-0 mitted for consideration to several persons of emie nence , and among others to Professors Faraday , d Playfair , a n * Graham . —He then stated that on e Monday night he would consent that the Governor ment business should give way to the motion of Mr . - Layard , if he could prevail on other gentlemen who " 1 had precedence of him on the paper to waive their e right to enable him to bring it on . —Later in the a evening , Mr . Laiaed , observing that a debate on the a administrative system of the country was appointed Y to take place * ' elsewhere" on Monday next , eonsi-* dered that he consulted the convenience of the House Y by postponing the discussion of his own motion on e the subject . THE NEGOTIATIONS . ' Lord Palmerston , in answer to Mr . Bright , e said there had been no formal or written proposal e made by the Austrian Government since the 26 th of ' April . Verbal communications had passed between 1 the representatives of the Austrian Government and those of the English and French Governments , and 3 also between the representatives of the French and t English Governments ; but he was sure Mr . Bright 3 would feel that , considering the relations between 1 the three Governments , it would not be for the f public interest to give a detailed explanation with J regard to them . With respect to the question whether the negotiations were entirely broken off , his - answer was similar to that which he gave the other ] I evening—that the elements of a conference still exist I ' at Vienna , there being at that city a British repre- 1 sentative , a French representative , a renresentative 1 of Turkey , a representative of Austria , and a repre-¦ sentative of Russia . —Responding to a further ques- ( - tion from Mr . Bright , Lord Palmerston said that , ' ¦ in his opinion , inconveniences might result from a j discussion of the question , but that each member j must use his own discretion in the matter . THE INDIAN ARMY . i Sir Erskine Perry moved for a select committee i to consider how the army of India may be made t most available for the war in Europe , and to inquire 7 into the steps necessary to be taken if it should . be i deemed expedient to constitute the army of the East c India Company a royal army . He quoted a variety t of statistics , showing that the Indian army amounts ( to 400 , 000 men and 12 , 000 officers ; and cited , the * opinions of the Marquis of Wellesley , the late Sir < Charles Napier , Lord Gough , Sir " NVilloughby Cotton , < and other high military authorities , to prove that * the soldiers of the East India Company ' s Service are < among the best in the world . Sir Erskine then pro- c ceeded to argue that this army holds out a legitimate v source from whence to augment the regular forces in v time of war , thus superseding the necessity forforeign ^ legions . He admitted that the recent memorandum , » assigning the same position to the Company ' s officers ° that is taken by the Queen's officers of correspond- d ing rank , is an advance in the right direction ; 81 but he held that it does not go far enough , lie P wished to see a complete incorporation of the *• two services , so that the Indian army might *' be as available for this country as the roynl army D _ i itself . His motion , he urged , pledged the House to ** no opinion : it nierelj r asked for inquiry ; and , con- B sidering tho magnitude of the quostion , he trusted P the committee would be granted . —The motion was -A seconded by Sir Dm Lacy Evans , who enlarged upon ftI the loss sustained hy the country , owing to tho H lifin-omnlnvmnnt ' , fif siwh mrnnrionr « r » H Rnldim-wna t \\ n T to ier nd Ity ; re to ter ' or at at et he nt a l ^ 3 j _ p . ,, j . " [ r e e ^ ¦ _ jg n r x [ > f n j jj t a B j 3 r - ' r ; > ; » t r j ; . or A

    in M < ro w < all m , C < Si on w < i ) O bo ve foi UO th Indian army contains ; and remarked that that army Would itself be beuotited by being commanded by royal officors . lie thought , however , that the Bepoys would not be of any use in the Crimea . —Mr . Oxwajt and Mr . John Maclhikoou further supported the motion , which was opposed by Sir «) . Fitkckisald , Colonel Donsh , Mr . J . G . Pjulliuoiik , Mr . Djvnby Se y mour , Sir J . W . Hooa , and Mr . Veknon Smith , on the general grounds that the proposed change would cause great confusion and inconvenience to both eervices ; that no great number of man could bo spared from service in India ; that it would bo very unjust to tako tho management of the 1 ndian forces oti * of tho hands of tho Company , who wo best acquuintod with tho necessities of -the service ; that the Governor-General of India is tho only person

    capable of judging whether any portion of the army could be dispensed with ; that the constitution and internal arrangements of the Indian and the royal armies are so totally different , that amalgamation would be totally impracticable ; and that , even as it is , the former is to a certain extent available for " foreign purposes , having been used in expeditions to Egypt , to Ceylon , to Java , to the Mauritius , to the Eastern Archipelago , and to Afghanistan , wlrich last , contended Sir J . W . Hogg , was essentially an expedifcion < , for European purposes . Besides , added the same speaker , " the services of Indian officers are at this moment required in aid of our regular army ; hundreds of volunteers from the Indian army have come forward ; and Indian officers are now serving in the Crimea , and in various departments of the army of the East . " —Mr . Vernon Smith , in urging similar views , said he thought the question was unfit for reference to a select committee , and warned the House that , as we are now at war with Russia , we must not overlook the safety of our Indian Empire . —Sir Ekskine Perry having briefly replied , the House divided , when the motion was lost by 171 to 62 . EDUCATION ( SCOTLAND ) BILL . The motion for going into Committee on this bill was resisted by Mr . Gumming Bruce , on the ground of the lateness of the hour ( twenty minutes to eleven ); and he-therefore m oved the adj ournment of the debate . A majority of 46 against this motion having been ejehibited by a division , the debate proceeded , and Mr . Bruce moved an amendment to the effect , that the Committee be instructed to divide the measure into two biHs—one relating to the parochial schools , the other te the new schools contemplated by the bil'l . His abject , he explained , was to enable the Legislature to adopt the useful provisions of the Lord Advocate ' s measure , without sweeping away the existing system of parochial schools in connexion with the Church of Scotland , —Lord Dalkeith then moved the adjournment of the discussion , to -which the Lord Advocate consented , and it was postponed to Monday . The Ecclesiastical Property ( Ireland ) Bill was read a third time , and passed . CONSTITUTION FOR VICTORIA . Lord John Russell obtained leave to bring in a bill enabling her Majesty-to assent to a bill passed by the Legislature of Victoria , establishing a constitution in that colony . CHURCH DISCIPLINE AND THE LAW OF DIVORCE BILLS . Sir John Pakington wished to ask the Solicitor-General for England whether the Government were prepared to introduce a Church Discipline Bill before the second reading of the English Testamentary Bill ; and , whether the Church Discipline Bill would deal with the United Church of England and Ireland as one Church ; also , whether the Government would introduce a Matrimonial and Divorce Bill before the second reading of the English Testamentary Bill . —The Solicitor-General said the bill for the improvement of the courts with : * espect to church discipline , which at the present moment is in a state that involves great reproach , was prepared under his direction at the same time as the Testamentary Jurisdiction Bill . When the latter bill was introduced , it had not been submitted to the consideration of the Government . This had , however , been done since , and the Government thought it right and becoming that the opinions of the right rev . prelates , ov some of them , should be taken before that bill was introduced into the House of Lords . The bill was prepared on the principle of treating the United Church of England and Ireland as one Church , and he knew of no other legal principle on which it could be prepared . With regard to the time of its introduction , the House would see from what he had stated that itwas impossible for him to say whether not it would be brought in before the second reading of the Testamentary Jurisdiction Bill , seeing that there was to be an adjourned debate on that bill . The Government had not the slightest intontiou of abandoning tho Testamentary Jurisdiction Bill , ulthough it had been compelled to yield for tho present to measures of a more pressing character . Matrimonial and Divorce Bill had boon prepared , and it would bo introduced immediately after the House had expressed its opinion with rcg-artl to tho Testamentary Jurisdiction Bill on the second reading :.

    M&T X% 1855.] The Ju E A D B.B. ^86

    M & T X % 1855 . ] THE Ju E A D B . B . ^ 86

    Tne Sebastopol Committee. Monday. Str Ti...

    TnE SEBASTOPOL COMMITTEE . MONDAY . StR Tiiomah ITasttnoh iv / in farther examined , and Htatod that novcnil iimtmwoH had occurred in which documents uonneolwl with Ordrninoo buHincBH hud had only one Bifrnnturo ; but not in any ciiho where money in concerned , niul , « H a general rule , nil muttons involving a . principle raiiiiio two Hifiiintimv * . Document with , ono niffnnturo ciiny tho authority of tho board only in dopnrtment . nl matter * . 1 ' nHHing to detailis , lurtitftted that an order lor live thousand waterproof ttheetu ^ ab given H ' littlo before hint November , and that they vrere not £ &•; /¦ ceivod at tho Tower until tho 22 nd of Jjunjary , % Qofc / - t - ' ' i

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), May 12, 1855, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_12051855/page/3/