Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

12 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

LONDON CORRESPONDENCE.\

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WILLS AJN D BEQUESTS.

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SIR GARNET WOLSELEY.1

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THE EASTERN QUESTION.

LONDON MARKETS.

ART AND LITERARY GOSSIP.

PARLIAMENTARY INTELLIGENCE.

Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

PARLIAMENTARY INTELLIGENCE. THE NAVAL ESTIMATES.—The House upon going into Committee of Supply, Mr. W. H. Smith proceeded to in- tronuce the Naval Estimates. He remarkul at the outset that they were framed to meet a normal condition of affairs, and the policy which they embodied was cf an unambitious character, as he should desire to have more experience before taking upon himself to depart from the lines laid down by his able predecessor. Taking the votes seriatim, he pointed out that the number of men and the amount of wages showed no sensible increase, and assured the House, both with regard to seamen actually in service and the Reserves, he had at his command a force adequate for every emergency which was likely to occur. Touching cur- sorijy on the clothing, coastguard, and scientific votes, he dwelt for some time on votes six and teu, which represent the shipbuilding, repairs, refitting, &c., for the year. The actual work for the present year, he pointed out, was 14,240 tons, but only 11,538 tons had been completed, and the deficiency occurred chiefly on the In- flexible, Ajax, and Agamemnon, which had been held back on account of the committee and the torpedo ram pro- posed in last year's Estimates had also been delayed, in order that the latest improvements be iutrouueed into her. The labour, however, had been expended in repairing and bringing forward other ships for com- mission. With regard to the coming year 5960 men were to be employed on shipbuilding; 4855 on repairs and refits; 2260 in manufacturers' yards and 2925 on the yards and harbours. The shipbuilding programme con- templates 13,568 tons on forty-six ships-ten ironclads, and thirty five unarmoured ships-and with regard to repairs, he assured the House that as long as he was in office, every ship worth repairing should be repaired at once. Of this work 9831 tons were to be done on eleven armour-pitted ships, 193 tons on two iron corvettes, 544 tons on seven steel and iron corvettes wooden sheathed, eighty-eight tons on two composite corvettes, and 706 tons on two composite sloops. The ironclads to be completed are the T€mdraire, Dreadnought, Nelson, Northampton, and Shannon, and there are to be four new ironclads laid down—one at Chatham, two at Portsmouth, and one at Pembroke. The types are not yet settled, but two of them ill probably be of the smaller class. As to the work to be done by contract, the Turkish man-of-war, the Orion, was to be completed, and six corvettes, two composite gunboats, and twenty-eight torpedo boats were to be built. Pass- ing to the other votes, he mentioned that the half- pay scheme for the Marines had given general satisfac- tion, and that its cost this year would be £5000, and adverting finally to the forty one amendments of which notice had been given by Irish members, with regard to the appointment of Roman Catholic chap- lains, he promised to do his best, wherever a considerable body of Roman Catholic seamen were assembled at a dis- tance from port, to provide suitably for their religious wants. After some discussion the whole of the votes were agreed to except those for dockyards, machinery, and naval atnlWH. whi<vh wnro odinnrnpH NEW ENGLISH BISHOPRIcs.-Lord Beauchamp presented a. bill for the foundation of four new Bishoprics in Eng- land, observing that it was the same bill as was intro- duced last year in the House of Commons, md that it would make no demand on the funds of the Eccle- siastical Commissioners, as there was a prospect that before long a sufficient endowment would be provided for new Sees, partly from the subscriptions of those who had the welfare of the Church at heart, and partly by a transference of a portion of the revenues of existing Sees. There would be thres new Sees in the Province of York-namely" Liverpool, Newcastle, and Wakefield—and one in the Province of Canterbury-namely, Southwell. Lord Houghton said that he would refrain from making any observations at present on the proposal, believing that it would be more convenient to take the dis- cussion on the second reading. The bill was read a first time. THE FLEET AT COHSTANTINOPLE.—Mr. W. Williams asked whether the continued presence of the British fleet in the neighbourhood of Constantinople was not at variance with the Treaties of 1856 and 1871, or whether anything had occurred to remove that objection to it, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in reply, said it would be inconvenient at. this moment to discuss this point in answer to a ques- tion, but the Government believed they were fully iustified, under the circumstances, in retaining the British fleet where it is. Loss or LIFE IN MINES.—In reply to Mr. Macdonald, the Chancellor of the Exchequer said that the present state of public business would not permit of a day being given him for his resolution on the Inspection of Mines; on which Mr. Macdonald moved the adjournment of the House to complain of this answer and to make some strong comments on recent accidents which he described as murders. Mr. Cross, in reply to this, vindicated the conduct of the inspec- tors and the working of the Mines Regulation Act, and pointed out to the men the importance of co-operating in the enforcement of the rules. PENSION FUND FOR THE WIDOWS OF SEAXEN AND MA- RINES.—On going into Committee of Supply on the Supple- mentary Estimates, Captain Price brought before the House the expediency of establishing a pension fund for the widows of seamen and marines, to be supported partly by contributions from the men themselves, and partly by the Government. Such a measure, he contended, would bind the men more closely to the service, and would check deser- tion, and he moved for a Select Commit ee to1 nquire into the suggestion. Lord C. Beresfurd, who seconded the motion, bore testimony to the great interest which it excited in the service. Mr. Cbilders, although favourable to 'ome mode of providing pensions, was strongly opposed to forced con- tributions, and sketched out another scheme under which the men should subscribe voluntarily at the rate of 5s. per month, or thereabouts, and the Government should make certain contributions. Mr. W. H. Smith concurred in Mr. Childers' criticism on Captain Price's plan, but promised to look elosely into the subject; after which the motion was negatived. THE MEDICAL ACTS.—The Duke of Richmond and Gordon called attention to the subject of the Medical Acts, and said that he would conclude by presenting a Bill to amend some of the defects which were to be found in them. He ex- plained several of the provisions of the measure, stating that the bill would require a person registered in the Medical Register" to have both a medical and surgical qualifica- tion, and would provide for the uniformity of the standard in the grant of qualifications for the United Kingdom. Among other objects, the measure contained provi- sions for the examination and registration of ladies and midwives; and under it a person who had obtained a medical diploma entitling him to practice in a colony or in a foreign country would also be entitled, if his diploma was recognised as representing a sufficient degree of knowledge, to be registered in this country. After minutely ex- plaining the various clauses of the measure, the Duke of Richmond and Gordon concluded by observing that the subject was one of considerable importance and complexity, and therefore he would postpone the second reading of the bill for some time for the purpose of allowing all competent persons in the country an opportunity of expressing an opinion on the proposed legislation. Lord Ripon thought that the bill would be considered to greater advantage when it should be printed, bnt he expressed his gratification to learn that it was pro- posed that men in the medical profession should be quali- fied both as physicians and surgeons. The bill was read a first time. THE PORTE AND ITS GUARANTEED LOAN.-In answer to Mr. Dodson, tl,e Chancellor of the Exchequer said that as the Porte had failed to remit the dividend on the Guaran- teed Loan, due in February last, the Bank of England. by request of the Government, had first of all ad- vanced the sum required to pay it, and the Government had since, under the Act of 1855, authorised the repay* ment to the Bank of the advance, amounting, witll commission, t) £77,448. A portion of the charge of the Guaranteed Loan should have been defrayed out of the Egyptian tribute but up to Monday, although the Govern- ment had remonstrated, no remittance had been received from the Khedive. The Government lias communicated with the Government of France, and has taken steps to re- claim from it its moiety of the advance. THE INDIAN GOVERNMERT AND THE PRESS.—Mr. O'DonneB called attention to the establishment of the censorship Of the press in Bombay and Bengal, and moved a resolu- lution condemning the passing of the Press Law without previous consultation with Parliament. Mr. Gladstone admitted the gravity of the subject and the necessity for its full discussion hereafter, especially after the haste with which it had oeen passed, but pointed out that while the House was uninformed as to the exact pro- visions of the Act and the motives of the Government, ili would be impossible adequately to debate it. Lord G. Hamilton, on behalf of the Government, concurred en- tirely with Mr. Gladstone as to the impossibility of enter- ing into the question now, and mentioned that the IndiØ Office had not yet received the text of the Act, nor of the debate upon it. At the same time he pointed out that the Indian Code already provided very severe punishment fot seditious libel, and this Act rather mitigated its stringency while making it applicable to the present circumstances. Sir G. Campbell and Mr. Fawcett joined in deprecating dis- cussion at this moment, and Mr. O'Donnell thereupon with* drew his motion.

END OF THE MASONS' STRIKE.

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