The Brecon Reporter and South Wales General Advertiser

y :—— JMPEEIA1>; PARLIAMENT. In the House of Commons, on Wednesday, Colonel French "somplained of the "count out" last night, which he said had been done in an unprecedented manner. Independent members were thereby prevented from bringing forward their measures. He asked if Government intended to take measures to prevent this being done in future. Colonel, Enox said it was he who moved that We House be counted, which he did to prevent the motion for the appointment of the select comuaitttee On the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill being brought forward; and he subniitted that he was justified in that course. After some discussion, in the course of which Mr. G. Hardy stated that the Government would do all in their power to prevent the House being counted out under such circumstances in future, the matter dropped. Mr. Fawoett moved the second reading of the Uniformity Act Amendment Bill. The only object of the bill, He said, was to repeal a clause in the Act of Uniformity, which ren- dered it necessary that the fellows of colleges should con. form to the liturgy and formularies of the Church of England. The bill was permissive, because it would have no effect unless the colleges by choosing to elect a student as fellow who was a nonconformist chose to bringitinto opera- tion. He had never eaid that there was a majority of the members- of the universities who were in favour of this measure, but there was a strong minority. In his opinion the advantages and emoluments of the universities ought to be open to all her Majesty's subjects, irrespective of their religious opinions, and he thought the nonconformists ought not to be content with the present compromise. Mr. Morrison seconded the motion. Mr. Selwyn moved the rejection of the bill. He said the real question was whether these colleges, which had been endowed by private individuals, and derived nothing what- ever from the State, which were. now, connected with the 'Church of England, were by Act of Parliament to be dis- severed from that connexion. The great majority of the members of the university he represented were against the bill, not a) single college had petitioned iu its favour. Mr. Gorst seconded the amendment. He looked upon a fellowship not in the light of a prize, but of a trust,-and he thought it would be as reasonable to ask: that a noncon- formist should be made a bishop all that he shogld be,made a fellow of a college. Mr. Pollard-Urquhart supported the hill. Sir W. Heathcote thought this Mil, and that of Mf. Cole. ridge, were calculated to unsettle the existing order of things, the only justification for which would be on a large and overwhelming majority being in favour of that being done. Mr. Serjeant Gaselee said the fact that not oue of-:the heads of colleges had petitioned in favour of this bill was, with him, an argument in its favour, for it was not to be ex- pected that a body would reform itself, :,Mr. Gladstone said he was unable to vote for the-second reading of the bill. It was true that in some cases duties -were attached to fellowships, but that wagmot the keiieial rule, and at Cambridge, and stillmore at Oxford, the obtaining of 3 fellowship was the crowning of the university career. He agreed with Mr. Selwyn, that the education of the dlergy was au important element in the case. He did not tbfak that the clergy ought to be educated in an; insti- tution where they would not mix with other classes of society. The religious question with- regard to tl,-o univer- sities ought to be dealt with as a whole, and he objected to the introducing piecemeal changes which were cal. culated < and likely bo be followed by other tenta- tive measures for -the settlement of the question. He did not think this bill was sufficient for a, settlement of the question, and it was but fair to the universities that whatever Parliament thought should be done, should be done in a complete form. Moreover, he thought that the principles that ought to govern this matter ought to be determined by Parliament, and not be left'to the colleges themselves. Another objeution to the bill was that it would not admit the Catholies, and intbatrespeot also would therefore not be a complete measure. Mr. B. Hope opposed the bill. Mr. Card well felt it hia duty to sw^port theseotmdread- iag of this bill. After some further discussion, Mr. Fawcett, in reply, said if the bill got into committee he would introduce a clause which would adna.it the Roman: "• Catholics. On a division the second reading was carried by 200 to 156. Mr. Dehman moved the second reading of the Attorney, c., Certificate Dllty Bill. Mr. Hunt moved the adjournment of the debate, but on. a 'division that motion was negatived by 132; to 91. -Mr. Ayrton addressed the House against the bill, his remarks being of a discursive character, and he continued 'his speech until a quarter to six o'clock, when by the rules, of the House the debate stood adjohrned. The House of Commons, on Thursday, resumed the con. sideration of the Reform Bill in committee—commencing with Part II., the Redistribution of Seats. The first clause in this portion ef the bill is clause 8, which disfranchises the four pecoant boroughs. The Chancellor of the Ex. chequer proposed to postpone this clause for the purpose of printing a preamble which he wished to prefix to the- clause, recitiiag the reasons for the disfranchisement. A long conversation followed on the convenience of this course, in the course of which Mr. Bright, eliciting very decided expressions of dissent, suggested that the bill should be cut in two; so that the franchise part might be sent to the Lords at once, and the Redistribution scheme discussed with sufficient deliberation to make it satisfactory and a bar to future agitation. Ultimately the Chancellor of the Exchequer withdrew his motion for postponement, 'and having read his preamble, which set out theprocaea. ings of the Committee and Commissions, moved that it be prefixed to the clause. .7 Sir G. Bowyer objected to the clause in toto; alleging that it was in reality a bill of pains and penalties, and otight to 'have been made the subject of a separate enactment. .Sir R. Enightley, from his experience as one of the Great Yarmouth Committee, asserted that if the town were not disfranchised, no candidate would be returned without bribery. Mr. Gladstone argued that this was no more a bill of pains ahd penalties than Schedule A of the Reform Act, which (idishanehised a number of small boroughs, and to the argu- ment of the hardship on the new electors, he replied by ^•pointing to the large proportion of the old constituencies shown to be impure, in Lancaster rising to 64 per cent., in. Bindatihg that they would leaven the mass, even with -the additions. Communities, -he. insisted, must be held responsible for the acts of a large proportion of their (Individual members (particularly when beside those who are proved to be guilty there was a large number who winked at the corruption since all penal enactments against indivi- duals had been found totally inoperative. The punishment of communities would ereate a public opinion against bribery, and it must be applied to large as well as small Communities. Mr. H. Baillie suggested the suspension of the writs for 25 or 30 years. Mr. Lowe objected to the remedy proposed that it was • applicable only to the old system—of which we had now got -to the fag-end—and was totally irreconcilable with the new -Principle on which the franchise had been placed; Mr. Gladstone's argument about large Constituencies he pointed out, in an ironical vein, would in time lead1 to the total dis- (appearance of borough representation. Mr. Howes argued disfranchisement would have no reme- dial effect. Mr. Bright objected to mixing up this question of dis- franchisement with the arrangements of the Reform Bill, and said the right principle was to disfranchise every per- son who had been found guilty of bribery, and to the objec- tion that the indemnity stood in the way of this, he replied. that if they had the power to disfranchise in bulk they surely had it to disfranchise individuals. He was of opinion, that a suspension of the writs for a certain .period would meet the justice of the case. LordCranborne maintained that the complaint of dis. franchisement rested on a fallacy. Boroughs discharged a special function in the representation: they were selected from the rest of the community, and a greater privilege Was given to them, which, in the case of these four boroughs, was to be taken away because theyhail shown themselves unworthy of it. The Chancellor of the Exchequer defended the clause as founded on sound policy and sanctioned by constitutional practice, but pointed out that the moral effect of whatever course wasadopted would be much weakened unless it were cordially accepted by the House, not as a mere matter of party discipline and Ministerial influence. The preamble was carried on a division by 325 to 49. Colonel Wilson-Patten then moved that in the oases of Lancaster and Great Yarmouth the punishment be limited to the suspension of the writs for a certain periodj which he fixed at ten or fifteen years; but whieh,. Mr. Gladstone i thought ought to be twenty years at least, so that the whole {personnel of the electoral body might be changed, and the Marquis of Hartington said was too long at ten. A long conversation followed, in which total disfranchise- ment, personal disfranchisement, and the ballot went advo- cated. the Chancellor of the Exchequer repeated his conviction that the clause embodied the right poncy, if it were only adopted by the general consent of the House. Had there been a disposition manifested to limit the punishment of these boroughs to depriving them of one seat, the Govern- ment would have been ready to consider it, but merely to suspend the writs would be utterly nugatory, and would be regarded by the country as trifling with the subject. On a division the amendment was rejected by loa to 87, and Mr. Baxter not proceeding with his amendment, clause 8 was agreed to in its integrity. On clause 9, which deprives a certain number of boroughs of one member each, 1 Mr. Mill moved the first of a series of amendments, de- signed to earry out Mr. Hare's plan of representation, the essence of which he explained to be that electors; in any locality should have the power of voting for any man who was a candidate anywhere. Having described the machinery for the registration and collecting of votes, he dilated on the advantages of the scheme, maintaining that under it every minority and every interest, however small, would be repre. yen sented, even though we came down to universal suffrage, and that it was the only scheme under which democratic representation could be fitted to the requirements of modern civilisation. For a moment or two no one rose, and. there were loud cries fof o. tdivision, when interposed with a proteat against so sum- -!Tatft7.-adism iskial of so important a matter merely because it lay out of the general route of Reform discussions. That the House of Commons should be entirely elected under such a system was, perhaps, undesirable, but it would be a great advantage if a certain number—say SO members- could be elected by the whole House. The Chancellor of the Exchequer summed up the conver- sation by rem,,arking, that,as these- subjects nrasfc necessarily be discussed by the House of Commons in the future, it was as well that a beginning should be made by a person of Mr. Mill's authority. Mr. Mill, yielding to the advice of his friends, withdrew his amendment, and the Chairman was ordered to report progress. On the motion for appointing a committee on the Ecclesi- astical Titles and Roman Catholic Relief Acts, Colonel Gilpin, seconded by Major Knox, moved that the committee be appointed that day six months. On a division the appointment of the committee was carried by 69 to42. A long dispute followed, bn the composition of the committee, and after one motion for adjournment had been defeated by 70 to 39, the debate was ultimately ad- journed. In the House of Lords on Friday, the Earl of Derby stated, in reply to a question, that the superior court in Spain had adjudged the proceedings in the case of the Tornado to be void, and there would, therefore, be a fresh trial. The Earl of Kimberley moved the second reading of the Offices and Oaths Bill, the object of which is to, enable Roman Catholics to hold the office of Lord hancellorof Ireland. I After some discussion the bill was read a second time. Some other bills: having bBen forwarded a stage the House adjourned. The Hougeof, Commons at the morning-sitting again went into committee on the Representation of the People Bill, resuming the discussion at clause 9, which enacts that certain boronghs which now return two members shall in f-ature, return only one. Mr. Laing moved an amendment that no town with a population less than 10,000 shall in future return more than one member. This amendment was one of a series in the paper embracing an entire new plan for the distribution of seats. He said that when they were Aealing with the question of the representation of the people, the redistri- bution of seats was a matter that must 'not be omitted from their consideration. In his opinion the scheme of the Government did not go far-enough to give a reasonable hope of a permanent settlement. It proposed to go no further than to take the second member from boroughs having a population of less than 7,000, and it left unoorrected great anomalies. Take, fer instance, the borough of Cockermouth. It had a population of 7,075, and it was to continue to return two members,; being the same share in the representation as Liverpool, with a popu- lation of 442,000. The present bill made a much-smaller proposal than the bill of last year, or the bill of 1854. ■ The first proposal which, he made was that every borough with a population of 1'0,600 persons, which now returns two members, shall, in future, return only one. There were 38 in that condition, and therefore by this means he should obtain 38 seats. He further proposed to introduce the principle of grouping some of the smaller bortughs,, by which- he would gain seven seats, and seven seats more were gained by the disfranchisement of the-corrupt boroughs which was agreed upon the previous night, making an entire-gain of 52 seats. In distributing these, seats he assumed that the demand of Scotland, for an addition to its representation, to' which he thought it was entitled, was to be met not by taking awayfro the representation of England or Ireland, but by the only other possible alternative, namely a small «• additioti to the number of members. He' proposed that six towns, with a population of more thaird50,000 each should have their representatives increased from two to three. Next, he proposed that large towns with a population exceeding 50,000, and Which had now one member, should have two. Of these towns there were four. Then, with regard to new boroughs, he proposed to adopt the proposal of the Government, giving 12 members to thbaa borbughs, I and he also adopted the proposal to give- two additional members to the Tower Hamlets; that made a total of 21 «eats applied to cities and boroughs, and one to the London University made 25; then heap plied the sajjie principle to counties that he applied to boroughs, by giving to counties with a population of 150,000 a third member: "that woutd Tequire 26 seats, which added to the 25 given io borough$, made 51, leaving asmall niargintobe dealt with/hereafter. My B. Cochrane complained that in all reform bills'the borough he represented, Honiton, was always put in the list to be disfranchised, and that he and other members similarly situatedwere called upon to perform the Japanese ceremony of happy dispatch." Heread a list of boroughs that were left untouched by the bill which were under. the influence of one or two persons. Mr. Serjeant Gaselee created considerable amusement by stating that he rose to support not Mr. Laing's but his -own proposition, which Mr. Laing had taken from him. He gave notice of it first, bllt ,Mr. Laing had "jockeyed him out of it. Sir G. Grey thought no one could look on the scheme of distribution proposed by this bill and say it was a settle- ment of this question. He thought they must necessarily hear of it again next Session. Mr. Laing had laid before them a scheme of redistribution, but the immediate pro- position before them: was that boroughs with a population of less than 10,000 should return only one member, and he could not hesitate to vote for it. The Chancellor of'the Exchequer said he should not argue the case upon anomalies. It was very likely that by, sudden changes they might produce anomalies as,flagrant, as those which nowaxisted. Besides, anomalies would still remain; there would still be towns with a population of little more than 10,000 returning as many members as another lIownwith a population of half a million. In a question of this kind they must go on some principle, and the principle that had guided the Government was to supply representation to those communities that had sprung up or greatly increased since the bill of 1832; and which were not represented. But KB thought they should not have a mere knot of towns en- franchised in one portion of the kingdom. With the excep- tion of giving one seat to the London University, that was the principle;on which the Government had proceeded. It was a practical principle which met the exigencies of the moment, and he advised the committee to pause before they passed that line. It was easy to disfranchise, but when thay '■ came to apply the seats at their disposal they would find ■ themselves in a great difficulty. Mr. Gladstone-said the argument of the Chancellor of the Exchequer was based on an assumption which was not well founded, namely, that if they were to have a large system of redistribution there was no method iof applying these j seats, but by having what was calledthe unicorn system of 1 representation. But that was not the general desire. He had that morning been told by a deputation from Binning- 3 ham that if that town had three members assigned to it, they would wish that the town should be divided-r-one por- 1 tion returning two members, and the other returning one. ( The Chancellor of the Exchequer said the Government plan was based on the principle of meeting existing wants and necessities; but was that altogether true? He thought that in the groupieg, but very few members were given to satisfy the claims of a large population. H.,did- -not, deny the claims of the county constituencies. On the contrary, one of the objects he had in view in voting for this amendment was: that they might be able to increase the number of members given to counties. In conclusion, he suggested to the Scotch members that it was a more easy way to obtain the increased representation for Scotland they desired by supporting this motion than by depending on the House resolving to increase the number of 6^8 members. Mr. B. Johnstone. hoped thilt the Chancellor of the Ex- chequer, having secfMa hand to the plough, would not now go back. Mr. H. Seymour moved, as an amendment on the amend- ment, to take the population as it wasl.on the 1st January, 1867. Sir Tv Bafcesoa asked Mr. Laing, if members on the Qon- servative side would support him, whether he would give way on the grouping system. Mr. Laing said he had endeavoured to make it clear that he looked upon the grouping system as a mere accessory, and he was not disposed to insist on it. Mr. H. Seymour then withdrew his amendment, and on a division Mr. Laihg's was carried by 306 to 179. The chairman was then ordered to report progress, and one or two bills which were on the paper having been for- warded a stage, the sitting was suspended shortly before seven o'clock until nine At the evening sitting, on the motion for going into supply, Mr. C. Fortescue called attention to the present position of the Queen's University in Ireland. A supplemental ) charter had been granted, opening the university to other educational institutions besides the Queen colleges, the object being to enable Roman Catholics to take advantage of it. Parties opposed to the charter applied to the Master of the Rolls in Ireland for an injunction to prohibit the carrying the charter into effect. That injunction had since been dissolved, but other parties, having obtained the fiat of the Attorney-General, had since instituted proceedings, which at present he could not see the end of. After a discussion, in which Lord Naas, Mr. Reilljvthe O'Donoghue, Mr. T. D. Acland, Mr. Lowe, and Mr. Glad- stone joined, thumbjoot dropped. I The House then went into committee of supply, and 215,000 was voted for the adaptation of Burlington-house for the use of various learned bodies. P.25,000 was also voted for the erection of a building for the University of London; but Mr. Layard moved, and by a majority of 52 to 46 carried, a motion that it is not desirable that the building ,at the back of Burlington-house should be erected accord- iIlgto either of the designs now exhioited iu the library. The other orders were disposed of, and The House adjourned. In the House of Lords, on Monday, several bills were advaneed a stage. „ On the report of amendments to the Increase of the Episcopate Bill, Lyttelton said the second clause, which required that £ 100,000 should be raised before any see could be established, would be a formidable obstacle to the satis- factory working of the measure, and he moved that the clause be expunged. On a division the amendment was negatived by 48 to 36. The Bishop of Oxford moved to amend the 12tii clause by giving power to the ecclesiastical commissioners to sub- scribe to the iuna^ for the erection of a new see as soon.: as one-half of the total sum required was raised. The amendment was carried by 41 to 31. The Earl of Ellenborough moved the omission of the ISth clause. On a division, the motion was carxied by 23 to 20, aud the clause was consequently expunged. The report was then agreed to, and the House adjourned. In the House of .Commons, the Chancellor of the Ex- chequer, in reply to Mr. Moncreiff, stated that though th& Scotch Reform: Bill stood on tne orders for Thursday he h1- tended to adhere to the determination he had already ax- pressed not to proceed witli the Scotch Bill till the -English bill was out of committeg, The House-having: gone into committee on the Represen. tation of the People Bill, Mr. Serjeant Gaselee rose, and created considerable merri- ment by saying that the House had 'carried by so large a majority oh Friday his proposition: (moved by Mr. Laiag)' for taking away one member from, every borough now returning two which had a population of less than 10,000, that he would; no-w move the other part of that proposition, which ought to have been put first, and that was to dis- franchise every borough with a population of less than 5,090 persons. Mr. Schreifeer moved anllmÈmdment which would have the effect of sparing the five boroughs now returning two members from which one member-was taken on Friday. Sir L. Palk opposed the amendment. With regard to Arundel, one of the boroughs it was proposed to disfran- chise, it had this recommendation, that it was the only English borough that returned a Roman Catholic; and with regard to the other boroughs, there was scarcely one, that had not been represented by me3i of eminence ill that House. Mr. Cardwell cordially supported the motion. If they wanted to have an agitation for electoral districts they had better leave on the statute-book the boroughs which it was proposed; by this motion to disfranchise. He saw no reason why the House should adopt Mr. Sctoeiber's amendment. Mr. J. Hardy said his borough (Dartmouth) now con- tained a population of about 4,600; and he created some amusement by claiming to add to it; the crew of the training ship Britannia, by which he said he would be spared. Mr. Laing expressed his disappointment that, after the .vote of Friday, the Government did not state what course they proposed to adopt. In order to give the counties the additional representation, they ought to have 12 or 15 seats more than the 45 obtained by his motion, and they could be obtained only by adoptingthismotiou, or by grouping. He denied that he had stolen Mr. Serjeant Gasalee's proposi- tion, and said his was different from that of the learned ssrjeant's. The Chancellor of the Exchequeroongratulated the House that this question was discussed without party feeling, and he claimed for the Government some share of the cradit of having brought about such a state ofr things. Their bill in- volved great sacrifices on the part of their political friends, J and, if it had been necessary, they would not have scrupled j to appeal to both sides of the House to make sacrifices. | The Government had proposed no plan in consequence of the vote on Friday, because they did not arrive at the full decision of the House, this motion not being yet decided upon, and they did not think it well to bring forward a plan which was not matured in its details. He had no doubt the committee would consider the question-with impartiality, and that they might agree to a distribution of seats that would be satisfactory. Mr, Gladstone ^painted out that the motion did not abso- lutely disfranchise the boroughs, as it would still be open to the committee to consider5 whethsr those boroughs should have the benefit of. borough representation in some other form. Mr. Schreiber then withdrew his amendment and on a division Mr. Serjeant Gaselee's motion was negatived by 269 Mr. Hayter then movedto add words providing that every borough enumerated in Schedule A shall be so enlarged, either by the addition of neighbouring boroughs or towns, or by an extension of its present boundaries, as to include a population of not less than 10,000 persons. Mr. R. Torke supported the amendment. The Chancellor of the Exchequer said the vote of Friday added considerably to the number of seats that were to be appropriated. On" affect of that vote was; that the 'whole scheme of redistributian would have to be-reponsidered, end he proposed therefore when this clause was disposed of to move that the further proceeding with the bill be postponed tilt after the Whitsuntide holidays. Colonel Dyott supported the amendment. Mr. M'Laren ured the claims of Scotland, which, if esti. mated according to the taxation paid, would, he said, be entitled to an addition of 25 members. 1. After some further discussion, Mr. Hayter offered to withdraw his amendment, but Mr. Ayrton objected, and it was negatived. On the question that the clause stands part of the bill, Mr. Hugessen made some observations on the necessity of correcting, at least the grosser anomalies in the represen- tation if.they were to prevent future agitation. The Chancellor of the Exchequer stated that he should propose on Friday that the House adjourn till Thursday, and the bill will be the first order on that clay., not with a view of proceeding with it then, but to enable him to make a statement. Practically they would not proceed with the bill till Monday week. Clause 9 was then ordered to-stand part of the bill. The Chairman reported progress, and, t he House rasumed. Some progress was made in committee on the Court of Chancery (Ireland) Bill; and the other business having been disposed of, The House adjourned. In the House of Lords, on Tuesday, the Chester Courts Bill Was read a second time. The Contagious Diseases (Animals) Bill, and the County Courts Act. Amendment BiLl. passed through oommittee. < The Pier and Harbour Orders Confirmation Bill, the Ihtestates'Widows and Children Bill, and the Pier and ] Harbour Orders Confirmation (No. 2) Bill, were also read a second time. The third reading of the increase of the Episeopate Bill was postponed until the 21st inst., at the request of Earl Grey, who stated that he intended to move the re-insertion of the clauses struck out of the report yesterday, The Earl of Derby stated that an Friday he should move that the House adjourn until the following Monday week for the Whitsuntide holidays, and The House adjourned, Th the House of Commons, on the order for going into committee on the Bankruptcy Bill, The, Attorney-General explained the alterations made in the bill since it was last before the House. Mr. Moffatt complained that the Attorney-General had not explained the prineiple on which the bill was founded, or stated that it had any principle. He asked whether the 'I bill was introduced to provide a creditor's remedy or a debtor's escape. H Mr. Selwyn pointed out that under the provisions of the J bill it was possible for a debtor, on payment of ten shillings ( in the pound, to obtaia his discharge, to commit great | Frauds on his creditors, and he submitted that the provisions. i mabling the creditors to seize after-acquired property were aot sufficiently stringent, to meet sueh sases. i raer Sir Ri_ Palmer also criticised in detail the various clauses 1 x the bill; and said he doubted the wisdom of requiring the iebfcor to pay as much as ten shillings in the pound in order I bo obtain his immediate discharge. < Mr. J. S. Mill said they had passed, not suddenly, but by 1 degrees, from the old barbarous treatment of debtors to a 3tate of law by whicu persons without being guilty of actual j punishable fraad enabled persons to make away with the property of others, and he should sllpportthe amendments of which Mr. Selwyn h-td givali notice, which were intended 1 to alter the lav? in that respect. The discussion was continued by Mr. E. K. Karslake, Mr. 1 G^oschen, and Mr. Freshfield. ] Mr. Ayrton was addressing the House against the power of imprisonment of the poor debtor, when, it being ten -| minutes to seven o'clock, the debate stood adjourned, and one or two bills having been forwarded a stage, the sitting J wis suspended till nine o'eloek. At the eveniBg sitting, Lord Enfield moved for and obtained the appointment of a. sfdeot oommittee to inquire and take evidence as to the law and practice relating to the summoning, attendance, and remuneration ofspeaial and common juries. Sir W. Hutt obtained leave to bring in the bill for the better regalation and supervision by the Board of Trade of the accounts of rail way and other j oint-stodk companies. Mr. Vanderbyl called attention to a petition from the in- habitants of the Cape of Geod Hope, .praying that her Majesty's forces may not be withdrawn from the colony, and moved an address to her Majesty to grant the prayer of the petition. After a, brief discussion, the motion was withdrawn. On the second reading of the Master and Servant Bill, Mr. E. Potter admitted the injustice of the present law, but said he thought it premature to deal with the question now. He moved the rejection of the bill. Mr. G. Clive supported the bill. Mr. Pease objected to that provision of the bill which gave power to the justices to annul contracts. Mr. Samuelsoa thought nothing could be more impolitic than to keep up this source of irritation between master and servant, the power of imprisonment, until they could legislate on trades unions. The discussion was continued by Mr. Liddell, Mf. Henley, Mr. Bruce, Mr. Fawcett, and Mr. Jackson. Lord Elcho defended the principle of the bill, which was to abolish imprisoament with hard labour for breaches of contract on the part of the men, and to substitute a fine, and offered to make such amendments in the bill as would meet objections. Mr. G. Hardy thought it would have been better to have referred the bill to a seiect committee. The amendment Was then withdrawn, and the bill read a second time. The other business having been disposed of, the House adjourned.

THE Emperor of China, a lad of fourteen or iifteen, who rules, or is officially supposed to rule, one- thirdof the human race, issued on 30th December, 1866, a very curious and a very important decree. Every 'candidate for office in China is to pass an examination in European astronomy, mathematics, and physical science. DEATH OF CAPTAIN W. H. WRIGIIT.-Allother old Peninsular officer, intimately connected with the county of Devon, has passed away. Captain William Henry Wright, of the 4th 'Dragoons, who died a few jiays ago at Lympstone, at the age of 83, entered the army in 1801. He obtained his troop in 1808, served throughout the Peninsular war under the Duke of Wel- lington, and was present at the advance and retreat from Madrid, the advance from Portugal, and at the battles of Talavera, Albuhera, Busaco, the siege and assault of Badajos, the advance and battle of Salamanca, the battles of Yittoria, Ortlies, and Toulouse, besides various minor affaii's. He was presented with the freedom of the City of Exeter in 1813, whilst still in Spain-a distinction which had also been conferred on his father, as colonel of the Exeter regiment of volunteers, which he was instrumental in raisipg. Captain Wright received, the I Peniasular medal wtgh six clasps, iin.18:1S.

I ASSAULT' IN AN OMNIBUS, Albert Booth, describe*? as a gentleman, surrendered Ms bail at the Marylebone Police-court, on Wednes- day, upon the charge of having assaulted Miss Nellie Stanley, who described herself as an actress. Mr. Lewis, of Marlborotigh^street, now appeared for the prisoner and Mr. OJdrieve for the prosecution. Upon the former examination the prisoner was charged day, upon the charge of having assaulted Miss Nellie Stanley, who described herself as an actress. Mr. Lewis, of Marlborotigh^street, now appeared for the prisoner and Mr. OJdrieve for the prosecution. Upon the former examination the prisoner was charged with having cassaultecl the complainant in an omnibus. The assault, as stated, that he first took hold of her arm and asked her how she felt, and afterwards that he pressed his hand very hard upon her knee. Then, upon being remonstrated with, he broke prosecutrix's sister's umbrella. At the former hearing prisoner asked for an adjournment to produce witnesses. A very long investigation into the ease now took place, in the course of which the complainant was cross- examined at considerable length by Mr. Lewis. Mr. D'Eyncourt then said: The young woman seems to. me to have acted remarkably well in this matter. I heard her story upon the former occasion, and now her statement remains still the same. The evidence and statement for the defence I have heard, and it is an attempt to throw dirt upon her character. She leads the life of an actress, and as a matter of course must go into public a good deal. Mr. Lewis She visits music-halls. Mr. D'Eyncourt: You have thrown out questions as to her virtuous and moral course of life, which you had no right to do. Mr. Lewis But- Mr. D'Eyncourt: You had better not discuss the matter with me now. It appears to me she has acted very well indeed. There has- not been the slightest wish or attempt to extort money. All she wanted- was a written apology, and I think she was entitled to that to retain her character. Upon the former occasion I should have been content to have fined the prisoner, but I after the imputations thrown upon the young woman's j character I must go further. I Mr. Lewis I beg pardon for interrupting, but if any- thing I have said, should tend to make your opinion adverse to my client, I am sorry; but I can assure you I have only gone according to instructions given to me, not by him, but by others. For their indiscretion I hope he will not. be made to suffer. Mr. D'Eyncourt: The young woman has oome here to have her character cleared. He has called her a prosti- tute. All I can say is that she leaves this court with her character itnimpeached. The prisoner must go to prison for fourteen days, without the option of a fine. At the rising of the court prisoner was allowed to go. at large, on finding good bail, in order for his solicitor to appeal to the Secretary of State.

THE KING OF T-ffB MENDICANTS. James Evans, alicts the King of .the Mendicants, and John Campbell, both of them giving their addresses at Old Pye-street, Westminster, were charged, at the Clerkenwell Police-court, on Wednesday, with soliciting alms at King's-road, St. Pancras. From the evidence of William Hewitt, one of the Men- dicity Society's officers, it appeared that he saw the two defendants accosting ladies and almost demanding money from them, saying they were in distress. He took them both into custody, and, found money on both of them. He had not seen Campbell before, but he knew Evans well, and read over the following list of convictions for begging against him :-Jan. 1, 1855, Marlborough-street, 14 days; Sept. 13, 1855, ditto, discharged Jan. 15, 1856, ditto, one calendar month May 20, 1857, ditto, seven days June 1862, West- minster, one calendar month; Jan., 1863, Marl- borough-street, three calendar months, December, 1863, Westminster, seven days; December, 1863, Bow- street, seven days December, 1864, ditto, one calendar month November 30, 1866, Marylebone, before Mr. Mansfield, three calendar months, and the latter convic- tion was ordered to be recorded, so that the defendant might afterwards be dealt with as afconfirmed rogue md a vagabond. The defendants both denied that they were asking for ilms, and said that they were offering tracts and pens for sale. Evans was committed to the Middlesex Sessions for trial as a confirmed rogue and a vagabond, and Camp- bell was sentenced to one month's hard labour in the House of Correction.

HOW THE BELGIAN VOLUNTEERS ARE TO BE ENTERTAINED IN ENGLAND. The proceedings at the general meeting of the Central Belgian Committee, recently held at Willis's-rooms, and presided over by Colonel Loyd Lindsay, were of a most satisfactory character, and leave no doubt but that suffi- ient funds will be forthcoming to enable the committee ;o do honour to the visitors in a manner which cannot 0 'ail to be creditable to the country. With regard to the .ntended programme of tlie reception and entertainments ;he gallant chairman stated, from a variety of reasons it ivas not considered desirable that the invite should be P, extended beyond a period of 10 days, so that there should be no flagging. In the first place he had the pleasure to iiinounce that Friday, July 12, was the day fixed for she arrival of our Belgian visitors, who it was still believed would muster about 1,000. They were to be brought over by her Maje,sty's ships, and up the river to Woolwich (loud sheers), and would there be met by some three or four river steamers, and be brought by the committee to London, and marched, he believed, to Guildhall, where the Lord Mayor would entertain them at a breakfast or luncheon. After this they would be conducted to their quarters which were being provided for them, as near the West-end of town as possible. On Saturday, the 13th, it was intended to invite the Belgians to Wimble- ion, where they would be received by Earl Spencer, the President, and the Council of the National Rifle Associa- tion, and a silver badge and riband be presented to each as a memorial of their visit to this country. On Sunday it was thought they might pass a pleasant and quiet day in the Zoological Gardens, or as their inclinations dic- tated. On the Monday it was proposed that they should go up the river to Richmond, where a collation would be provided, and all the rowing clubs had been written to, asking them to turn out and make a gala day of it (hear, hear). Miss Burdett Coutts had, not only kindly sent them X50, but had invited the whole of the Belgians on Tuesday, July 15, to a fete at Holly Lodge, Highgate, where they would be enter- tained (applause). It was proposed to assemble them at Albany-street Barracks, and march to Highgate (hear, hear). It was also proposed to take them to see Windsor Castle, where he doubted not but that they would receive the hospitality of her Majesty the Queen (loud applause). On Wednesday, the 17th July, it was pro- posed to give the Belgians what might be called the great fete to our visitors, in the shape of a ball at the Agricultural-hall (hear, hear). He could not speak at that moment positively as to place, but at -all events it would be upon such a magnificent scale that it would be one of the most splendid entertainments ever given in this country (loud cheers). In .addition to this it was the intention of the Lord Mayor to give a banquet to the most distinguished visitors and principal officers at the Mansion-house. The question of a banquet at the Crystal Palace had been mooted, but it was felt that to do the thing properly it would cost something like 30s. per head. Mr. Charles Buxton, M.P., by reason of his recent accident, was unable to give the entertain- ment he had contemplated, but he had forwarded a check for £ 100 (applause). Messrs. Coutts and Co., bankers, had also forwarded 2100 (cheers). The chairman then read a large amount of subscrip- tions, and urged that the provinces should be called upon to contribute, so that this national reception should be concentrated in the metropolis, as from the limited time the Belgians would be here it was impossible to accept the vast number of local demonstrations offered, and he was sure their friends in the provinces would see that it would be invidious to select one place and not another. Resolutions thanking Miss Burdett Coutts and accepting her offer, as well as to Mr. Charles Buxton, were adopted. It was also resolved to ask the principal metropolitan and provincial journals to give leading articles in support of raising funds for this visit as a national matter. It was also suggested to invite yachtsmen to me&t the ships bringing the Belgians over, and in referenca to tlie Crystal. Palace, a gentleman representing the purveyors said they would give a dinner in and pint of wine, with three bottles of bitter ale, to each Belgian, at a-tariff of 8s. 6d. A gentleman representing the authorities of the South Kensington Museu/n at- tended to offer the advantages of that institution for a soiree. Colonel Lindsay finally mentioned that it was intended, with regard to the Agricultural Hall, to follow up the ball with a grand concert, on the -folio .ving Friday. The Observer of the 2nd instant says:—We have authority to state that the arrangements which were in doubt at the time of holding the meeting of the Belgian Reception Committee on Thursday, as to the Agri- cultural-hall being secured for the intended grand ball to the Belgians on their visit to this country, are now perfected, and the ball will take place there on the even ing of Wednesday, the 17th July. Not only is it antici- pated that his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, as president of the committee, will do the honours, but that amongst the principal guests will be their Majesties the King and Queen of the Belgians, and the Count and Countess de Flandres, as also some other foreign princes and persons, of high distinction. The contract for the "decorations and other works have been entrusted to Messrs. J. Defries and Sons, of Holindsditch, and the illuminations, fountains, and other accessories, are to be of a most brilliant character.

HOW BOYS ARE INDUCED TO ROB THEIR EMPLOYEES. Frederick Foster, 17, who gave his mother's address, 4, St. James's-street, Blue Anchor-road, Bermondsey, was placed at the bar at Guildhall, on Friday, before Alderman Allen, charged with counselling and procuring Abraham Bache to commit a felony by inducing him to steal some tobacco from his employers, Messrs. George and Samuel Goode, No. 51, Newgate-street. Abraham Bache, an intelligent boy about 12 years of age, said he was in the employ of Messrs. G. and S. Goode, of 51, Newgate-street. He had known the prisoner since Monday last. On that day, about one o'clock in the "afternoon, he saw him at the corner of Newgate-street, and the prisoner spoke to him. He said he wanted witness to get him some tobacco at Is. 6d. per pound, and he replied that he could not do it. He then accused witness of stealing tobacco from Mr. Goode, which he (witness) denied. The prisoner persisted in it that he had, and said that if he did not.get him 41b. of tobacco he would go and tell of him but he again said he would not. They walked together round the Pbst-office, and the prisoner told him he had another boy working at Mason's about a year ago, and he used to get him tobacco, pouches, cigar cases, and meerschaum pipes, and that lie used to make about £2 a week from him,'and that another boy at a shoemaker's took away two pairs of boots every night, and that as soon as lie found it was right he would be on to him for some more boots. On the same day he saw the prisoner again at thecorner of Newgate- street, and then he told him that tobacco was easy to get out, and that witness could put a pound in his cap and another in his shirt if he squeezed it in well. He told the prisoner he would not do it. At eight o'clock he met a friend to go home with him, °and the prisoner came up to them and said if witness did not get him 21b. of stuff by the following day he would tell his master. He did not see the prisoner again until yesterday at the dinner hour, when he again threatened that if he did not get the tobacco he would tell Mr. Goode. Witness then told his masters what had occurred, and by their direction went out and told the prisoner he would meet him at seven o'clock at the Post-office. At seven o'clock, Mr. Alfred Goode, the son of one of the partners, gave him half a pound of tobacco to give to the prisoner, which he gave in presence of John Frost, an officer. The constable was standing near when he gave the prisoner the tobacco, and at once took him into custody. John Frost, 567, said in con- sequence of some communication he had had with Messrs, Goode, he watched the prisoner loitering about under the portico of the post-office until the last wit- ness came up and gave him the tobacco, and then he took him into custody. He gave his mother's address, but he had not been there for a month. His mother and sister gave him a very bad character.—Richard Harmer, 251, Mile-end-road, clerk to Messrs. Goode, saw the tobacco given to Bache, and saw him give it to the prisoner. The officer came up and he, gave the prisoner into custody, and made the charge at the sta- tion. When Frost told the prisoner what he was charged with he pulled the tobacco out of his pocket-— Alderman Allen remanded the prisoner for further inquiry.

THE JEWS AT TANGIER.—A communication from Tangier, of the 23rd ult., states that a band of mountaineers of the Riil having exercised the gravest violence against a party of Jews who were proceeding to Tetuan, and especially on one named Abraham Pariente, interpreter and protege of the Vice-Consulate of Austria, S-LLIA who expired on the spot, the Austrian Consulate-General at Tangier has talcen up the matter,^and is officially pursuing it before the Government of Morocco.