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    i700 THE LEADER. [No. 331, Saturday,

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    Imperial Parliament. A ? Monday, July 21...

    lordships must not be surprised if , being entirely innocent of those charges , he takes an opportunity of vindicating himself in another place . " The Consolidated Fond Appropriation Bill , and the Coast Guard Service Bill passed through committee , after some discussion of a desultory character . — Various other hills also passed through committee without discussion . The Formation , & c , of Parishes , the Courts op Common Law ( Ireland ) , the UnlawtOx , Oaths ( Ibklahd ) , the Nuisances Removal , & c . ( Scotland ) , and the Marriage and Registration Amendment Bills , ¦ were severally read a third time , and passed .

    At the early sitting of the House of Commons , the Countt Courts Acts Amendment Bill was read a third time , and passed . Some amendments were proposed by the Government , one of which , the Speaker ruled , could not be put , because it increased the charge on the public , a course which could not be taken on the third reading . VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL ON

    EDUCATION BILL . On the motion for the third reading of this bill , Mr . Henley said he could not see the utility of appointing an official with a large salary and without any denned duties to be discharged ; and he moved , as an amendment , that the bill be read a third time that day three months . —Mr . Gladstone seconded the amendment . He regretted to find that the House of Commons seemed to have lost the wholesome jealousy with which it formerly regarded the creation of new offices with large salaries . —The measure was defended by Sir George Grey ; and , after considerable discussion , the amendment was rejected by 77 to 35 . —The bill was read a third time , and passed .

    OUR RELATIONS WITH THE UKTTED STATES . In reply to Mr . Milner & ibson , Lord Palmerston said that the Government had not decided on the new Minister to the United States . POLITICAL PRISONERS . Sir George Grey , replying to Mr . Duncombe , said that the persons convicted of high treason in September , 1820 , would receive the benefit of the late amnesty , if any of them should be still alive .

    THE AUTHORIZED TRANSLATION OF THE BIBLE . Mr . Hetwood moved an address for the appointment of a Royal Commission , consisting of learned men well skilled in the original languages of the Holy Scriptures , and conversant with modern Biblical scholarship , to consider of such amendments of the authorized version of the Bible as have been already proposed , and to receive suggestions from all persons who may be willing to offer them ; to point out errors of translation , and such words and phrases as have either changed their meaning or become obsolete in the lapse of time ; and to report the

    amendments which they may be prepared to recommend . Mr . Heywood admitted that , unless public opinion was in favour of the proposition , it would not be prudent to move in it . —Sir George Grey concurred in the latter remark , and , believing that the notion was not in accordance with public opinion , he thought it would be most unwise to adopt it . He was ready to admit that the translation now in use is susceptible , in some passages , of improvement ; but , taken as a whole , he thought it well entitled to the respect , veneration , and confidence -with which it is universally entertained . — The motion was withdrawn .

    may w * ll derive advantage . His Lordship adviaed Mr . Wilkinson to withdraw his motion , and rest satisfied with the effect which the discussion , combined -with his own good example , must produce . —Mr . Monckton Milnes , Mr . Biggs , and Mr . W . J . Fox , attributed blame to the " leaders " on both sides of the House for adopting courses calculated to prolong debates , and give bad example to their followers . —The motion was lost by 57 to 30 .

    SPANISH BONDS . A motion was made by Sir J . Fitzgerald , enforcing the claims of British subjects , the holders of certain Spanish Bonds , to an honourable settlement of the interest on their advances from the Spanish Government . — Lord Palmerston acknowledged the just and equitable claims of the parties in question , and that the conduct of the Spanish Cortes was neither just nor generous , but remarked on the inconvenience which might arise from any formal expression of opinion on the subject , on the part of the legislature ,, as fettering the action of the Government . —The motion was thereupon withdrawn .

    GENERALS BEATSON AND VIVIAN . Mr . Roebuck moved " That the Under- Secretary for War having admitted that , upon anonymous information , a secret inquiry had been ordered into the conduct of a general officer , this House feels itself bound to express its reprobation of such a proceeding . " Mr . Roebuck expressed much indignation at the course so taken , and called upon the House , as a body of English gentlemen , to throw their shield over the honour of the Enghad

    lish army . General Beatson , the officer alluded to , performed most distinguished services , and bore the highest character ; but a charge was now brought against him of having excited the men of the Turkish Contingent , whom he had formerly commanded , to mutiny against their officers . That charge involved , not only the honour , but the life , of General Beatson ; yet a secret inquiry had been entered into on anonymous information . Such a proceeding was most unjust and discreditable . — Mr . Frederick Peel was glad of an

    opportunity of explaining that he was wrong on a former occasion in stating that General Vivian had acted on anonymous information in reference to the charges against General Beatson . He had now to state that General Vivian acted upon information received from a source upon which he was justified in placing reliance . That communication was received from General Shirley in an official form . General Vivian was bound to bring the communication he had received to the knowledge of the War Department , and Lord Panmure took the only course which was open to him , namely , to call for a preliminary inquiry , before determining whether more decided steps should follow .

    —Mr . Isaac Butt expressed a strong disapprobation of the course taken by the War-office . —Colonel French appealed to Lord Palmerston to exonerate General Beatson from the charges made against him . —Lord Palmerston replied that the honour of General Beatson had not been compromized by the proceedings which had been taken , ana be advised the House to suspend its judgment till the result of the inquiry has been arrived at . —Colonel Lindsay regarded Lord Palmerston's speech as a premium on anonymous slander ; " the Chancellor of the Exchequer defended the course that had been pursued ; Mr . Roebuck replied , and tlie House divided , when the motion was negatived by 71 to 23 .

    BISHOPS OB" LONDON AND DURHAM RETIREMENT niLL . The second reading of this bill was moved by Lord Palmerston , who denied that there was anything simohiacal in it . —Mr . Henley moved the adjournment of the debate , assigning as a reason that the bill had not been delivered to members , and that consequently they were not in a position to enter upon the consideration of a measure of so much importance . —Mr . Gladstone seconded the amendment , and Lord Palmerston consented to the adjournment . The Leases and Sale of Estates Bill was read a third time , and'passed . Wednesday , July 23 rd . THE BEPOUT OF THE CIIia . BICA COMMISSIONERS . In the Housk of Commons , Mr . Kinnaikd inquired whether the report of the Chelsea Commissioners would be printed before the prorogation of Parliament?—Mr . Villiers replied that he had hoped the report would have been printed before this , but that it would no doubt be ready in the course of a day or two . Ho added that he treated with the utmost indifference the personalities concerning himself which Lord Lucan had indulged in in the House of Lords . —Mr . French said ho considered the explanation given by Lord Lucan on the previous evening—namely , that ho had never intended to aay anything which could bo personally offensive to tho right hon . gentleman—quite untiHfnctory . —Tho subject then dropped . The Guano Juries , & c . ( Iuelano ) Bill , and tho Poor Law ( Ireland ) Bill , were withdrawn . I 1 I 8 IIOINS RKTIRKMKNT HILL . The debate on tho second reading of thin bill was resumed by Sir William Hmathcotic , who moved that tho measure be deferred for three months . —A long debate ensued , and considerable opposition waa offered by Lord Robert Ckcil , Mr . Napier , Mr . Rokbuok , Sir James Ghaham , Mr . Dumcombk ( who denounced tho measure as " disgusting" ) , and Mr . Gladstone , who all

    assumed positions similar to those taken by the opponents of the bill in the House of Lords , and argued that the character of such an act is simoniacal , that the amount of the retiring pensions is too large , that there is no necessity for a special measure to meet the cases in question , as the Church has already the power of appointing suffragan bishops , that a precedent is being established that a general measure would be preferable to a specific measure , and that the resignation of a bishop should be pure , absolute , simple , and unconditional , whereas , in these cases , a bargain is made . —The bill was supported by Mr . Monckton Milses , Mr . Caudwell , Mr . Black Mr . Walpole , Sir John Shelley , Sir George Grey ' and Lord Palmerston , who denied that there is anything simoniacal in the measure , and pleaded the necessity of relieving the Bishops of London and Durham of their duties . —The second reading was ultimatel y carried by 151 to 72 . The House then adjourned . Thursday , July 24 th . THE MILITIA MUTINY AT NENAGH . Lord Panmure , in answer to the Marquis of Clanricarde , said that proper steps would be taken to bring the Nenagh mutineers to justice . There was one case of murder and several of assault , which would be handed over to be dealt with by the civil tribunals . With regard to the other offences , they were entirely of a military character , and would be dealt with by the military authorities accordingly . He thought it only right to take that opportunity of bearing his testimony to the admirable behaviour of the rest of the Irish militia . —This testimony was confirmed by the Earl of Ellenbokouoii , who quoted statistics to show that the desertions from the Irish militia had been much less than from the English or Scotch , and that the contributions to the regular army had been much greater . He looked upon the Irish militia , therefore , as incomparably the most valuable force of the kind we possess .

    THE STAFF OF LORD RAGLAN . Lord Calthoupe complained that the Staff of Lord Raglan , had been excluded from the French honours bestowed upon other officers . He wished to know whether the Government had not received some communication from the Emperor of the French with respect to his wishes in the matter . —After some remarks by the Duke of Cleveland ( who thought a mistake had been accidentally made ) , and by Lord Coi . ciikstek ( who regarded the distribution as incautious and unsatisfactory ) , Lord

    Panmure stated that the responsibility for the selection of names did not rest with the Government , but with Generals Simpson and Codrington , who , he was sure , had acted without any favouritism . He had received no such communication as that indicated by Lord Calthorpe ; but his predecessor at the War Office might have done ao . —The Earl of Ellenborouoh protested against the principle of rewarding those soldiers and sailors who had not been under fire , and also against the r < wptinn of decorations from a foreign sovereign . —The subject then dropped .

    THIUD HEADINGS . The following bills were read a third time , and passed : —Income and Land Taxes , Stamp Duties , Racehorse Duty , Coast Guaxcd Skuvice , Couiiltt Practices Prevention , General Board of Health Continuance , Militia Pay , Cursitor Bakon of thi : Exchequer , Lunatic Asylums Act Amknmmient , Deeds ( Scotland ) , Judicial Procedurk , &« . - ( Scotland ) , Bills . —The Markiaoe , & c , K k < ; isthation Acts Amended Bill was also read a third time , some amendments being introduced relative to the mode of entering the marriage . X'AROCIIIAL BCIIDOLH ( fi ( 'OTI . AXI )) HILL . On the order for considering the < ' ominous amendments to this bill , it was agreed to abide by the previous decision to restore that clause which cuntiinie . -j the religious test in the appointment of schoolmaster . * .

    niSIIOI'S RKTIRKMKNT IUI . I ,. In tho House op Commons , at the morning Hitting , on the order for going into committee upon the Hiahops of London and Durham Hctirement Bill , Mr . Hai > kiki . i > moved to defer the committee for three months , supporting the motion by a . speech in which h «> inveighed against the vast incomes received by the . two prelate * ( strangely contrasting with tho miserable pay of the humbler clergy , and also with the income of the 1 ' opo , which , for ecclesiastical purposes , ia only J « > 00 / ., while that of Inn Cardinals is no more than 400 / . ) , and denounced the . bill aa an odious measure . Ho also referred to the . Hi . nhop <> London as a bigotami Hpoko of tho altu . se of nn

    Kstiin-, lislicd Church . —This amendment gave vise to a I " " discussion , but ultimately it was negatived without any division . Tho House then went into committee _ "I "" the bill , and made aoino progress in the consideration ° its clauses , the remainder being reserved for tho evening sitting , when they were agreed to after . some ( li .- ^ Kf * '" ' in the course of which an amendment , moved by ft >• KoKnucK , and designed to reduce the retiring allowui " " of tho Bishop , of Durham to HO 00 A per minimi , ^ vas negativod on a division by a majority of f >~ ' ' '• ' j annuity originally proposed ( 4 . 000 / . ) wan then iigrcci

    to . KXrULHION OF JAMKfl HA 1 > LKIK . Mr . Itoicmu-iic , pursuant to notice , moved tho exp" - Hion from the Houbo of Mr . James tfndlcir , tho mom " ' for Tinporory . Ho did not take upon himself to »» y

    RESTRICTION OF THE LENGTH OF 8 PEECHE 8 . Mr . Wilkinson moved " That , except upon the introduction of a measure to the House , no member do speak for more than half an hour at one time upon the same question ; nor upon any occasion for more than one hour . " He denounced in humorous terms the waste of time and the sacrifice of business accruing from the habit of making long addresses , and observed that , though he had great pleasure , of course , in listening to those speeches , ho was ready to sacrifice that pleasure for himself ( laughter ) , and he hoped that other members would be as ready to relinquish it as he was . ( Laughter . " ) Tlioro were 278 members of the House who never spoke at all . f" Hear , hear , " and laughter . " ) There were 209 members

    ¦ who never spoke for more than half an hour . There remained 170 members who spoke more than half an hour , and some of these spoke but seldom . The monopoly of long speeches was therefore confined to a few , so that ho hoped his motion would meet with a favourable reception . —Lord Palmerston agreed that a good deal of time was wasted , and that much advantage would accrue from hon . members carefully digesting what they have to say before they say it ; but he thought the particular proposition brought forward by Mr . Wilkinson would put an unconstitutional restraint upon tho freedom of

    debate . The evil is not so great now as it was ; long speeches being more common in former times than now , and there itta once a certain member of whom it waa related that he began his speoch at five o ' clock , and that a friend of his went to Clapham , dined , played whist , returned to the House , and found his friend still on his legB . ( Laughter . ) Time ia now occupied more with tho number of speeches than with the length of each speoch —one of the results of the greater freedom arising from tae Keform Bill ; and there are now a greater number of members than formerly who can produce addresses , from the talent , knowledge , and learning of which the House

    I700 The Leader. [No. 331, Saturday,

    i 700 THE LEADER . [ No . 331 , Saturday ,

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), July 26, 1856, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_26071856/page/4/