Matto au t( Icturrrtingo iuVartiantrnt.

PRINCIPAL BUSINESS OF THE WEEK.

Muss OF LORDS. Monday, April 23. Convention with Sardinia Bill committed.

The Lords.

Hour of Hour of Meeting. Adjournment.

Monday Sh . 5h 20m

Tuesday 5h 811 20m Wednesday.... No !sitting.

Thursday 511 . . 511 30m Friday 5h .... 9h Om

Sittingsthls Week, 4; Time, 8k 10in — this &WIWI, 11; 9411 50m - this Session. 61 ; 3731; 20m Sittings this Week, 6; Time, 3th 20m THE BUDGET.

The Budget was debated in the House of Commons on Monday, on the - -Testio.nra.t the report of the Committee of Ways and Means be agreed to.

- G &West was the first speaker; and, like the majority who fol-

1ow-4 addressed his remarks to the subject of the loan. He did not iihject to the coi#rmation of the loan, which he thought had been con- traotici on -term fair to the contractors and favourable to the Govern- Meat ; but as flit re loans may become necessary, he pointed out what he

Tuesday, April 24. Vienna Conference; Lord Clarendon's Statement—Cambridge University Bill committed—Convention with Sardinia Bill read a third time and passed. Thursday, April 26. Royal Assent to the Convention with Sardinia Bill; Pur- chasers Protection against Judgment Bill; Lunacy Regulation Act (1853) Amend- ment Bill; and Commons Enclosure Bill.

Friday, April 27. " Practical Joking" in the Army; Lord Hardinge's Reply to Lord Shaftesbury—Trade with Russia; Lord Albemarle's Statement.

NOOSE OP Commo1413. Monday, April 23. Vienna Conference ; Lord Palmerston's Statement—The Budget; Report of Ways and Means agreed to—Loan Bill read a first time —Customs-duties Bill read a first time—Income-tax Bill read a. first time —Spirit-Duties (Scotland and Ireland) Bill read a first time—Newspaper-Stamp Bill In Committee—Sebastopol Inquiry; Captain Gladstone appointed in the room of Mr. John Ball.

2'uesday, April 24. Act of Uniformity; Mr. Heywood's Motion—" Count-out."

Wednesday, April 25. Marriage Law Amendment ; Mr. Heywood's Bill de- bated on the second reading—Affirmations (Scotland) Bill read a third time and ' passed. Thursday. April 26. Electric Telegraph between London and the Crimea—Loan Bill read a second time—Income-tax Bill read a second time—Customs-duties Bill read a second time—Spirits (Scotland and Ireland) Bill read a second time—Testa- mentary Jurisdiction ; Sir R. Bcthell's Bill, debate on second reading—Personal Estates of Intestates; Mr. Locke King's Bill read a first time—Downing Street Public Offices Extension ; Sir W. Molesworth's Bill read a first time.

Friday, April 27. Public Administration; Mr. Layard's Notice of Motion—Mr. Layard's Liverpool Speech ; Explanations—Loan Bill committed—Customs-duties Bill committed—Education (Scotland); Lord Advocate's Bill read a second time— Friendly Societies Bill committed.

TIME - TABLE.

The COMMORI.

Hour of Hour of Meeting. Adjournment. Monday 46 .(,n) 1211 45m Tuesday 41; 7h 15m

Wednesday Noon .. ih5Orn

Thursday 4h . (m) 12h 30m

Friday 411 .(m) 2h Om

conceived to be an error in principle in the resolution to apply 1,000,0004 annually after the conclusion of the War to the extinction of the debt. Would the Howie, on tha 'conclusion of posse, fulfil that obligation ? When he first sat in Parliament, the House solemnly declared that they

would set apart 5,000,0001. a year for the redemption of the debt. Instead

of adhering to that resolution, two years afterwar& they reduced the sum to 3,000,000/. ; and they observed that resolution as little as the former. He objected to the principle of this loan because he regarded the annuities as irredeemable, and as imposing a burden from which there is no relief. The only way to reduce the National Debt is by providing a surplus for that pur- pose, or by reducing the interest from time to time. No Government ought to throw away any favourable opportunity for reducing the interest. It would have been a safer course to make the offer of this loan in the Three per Cent Annuities capable of redemption in 1874, rather than in the Three per Cent Consolidated Annuities, which are irredeemable.

Mr. THOMAS BARING expressed his astonishment at the opposition offered by Mr. Goulburn to the resoltition for applying 1,000,0001. after the peace towards the extinction of the debt.

Because we have not hitherto carried out a system of repaying what we borrow, that is no reason why the House should refuse to express its honest intentions. No doubt, good intentions often are delusive, but it has never

been inculcated as a moral precept that good intentions are not to be formed. We should refrain from borrowing as long as we can ; we should

lay no burden on posterity which we can avoid ; but when we must borrow, we should do so with the honest intention of reducing the debt as soon as possible. The plan of the Government is just and honest; and, considering the time and circumstances in which the arrangement was made, it is not only creditable in its terms but.advantageous to the Government. Mr. Baring also contested an opinion expressed by Mr. Laing on Friday last that the money might with ease have been raised on terminable an- nuities.

It could not have been raised except by making great sacrifices. It is the most preposterous notion ever mooted in that House to say that the money could have been raised as money has been raised in France on railways.

In France, the money was borrowed on favourable concessions ; not on fixed dividends, but on fluctuating profits. Then as to loans by open subscription -in France, money is hoarded, or employed at a low rate of interest : the same thing does not exist in England. Government could not obtain money either by open subscription or by terminable annuities, but they could keep a surplus income for the diminution of the debt. Mr. GLADSTONE concurred in thinking that the loan could not have been raised in terminable annuities except at a price wholly extrava- gant; and he also concurred in thinking that a loan could not be raised here as in France, by open subscription. But Mr. Baring had not been just in his comments on Mr. Goulburn. The question was not whether a surplus revenue should be maintained to reduce the debt year after year, but whether the resolution would assist in maintain- ing that surplus. The House, he doubted, would never attain the object in view by present enactment ; and if it were wished to assert a principle, it should be in the preamble. But the clause went further in its dictation to

future Parliaments, and specified the amount and form of investment, speci- fying Consols; whereas in 1860 or 1870 it might be advisable to redeem Ex- chequer Bonds or other stocks. The present Parliament had better rest

satisfied with its own duties, and not attempt to teach future Parliaments their duties. Nor is the proposed clause harmless; for it throws dust in the eyes of the people ; tends to create delusive hopes, and to give undue facili- ties for the raising of unnecessary loans by pretending to provide means for their repayment. Mr. LAING explained, that he had not distinctly argued in favour of the creation of terminable annuities, but had simply represented that the

loan might so have been raised. If the loan could not have been raised by, that mode, then the Chancellor of the Exchequer might have created stock at the market interest, 31 per cent, instead of adding so largely to

the Three per Cents and depressing their price. With regard to the pro- vision for repayment, he suggested that it might be embodied in the very terms and essence of the loan ; but be could be no party to a fictitious guarantee.

Mr. HANKRY supported the repayment stipulation ; and Mr. CARD.. WELL opposed it; each mainly repeating the arguments of preceding speakers. Sir GEORGE LEWIS made some further explanations of his plan re- specting the repayment of the loan.

The resolution is not a matter of contract between the Government and the lenders : the House can deal with it as they may think fit ; and fifteen years hence another Parliament may repeal the enactment. "There is

nothing peculiar in the proposition which we make. It cannot control the future discretion of Parliament; but the effect which it would have if it re- ceived the authority of law is this,-it creates a permanent charge on the

Consolidated Fund, and it becomes the duty of the existing Government to make provision for that sum out of the Ways and Means of the year; and it will be the duty of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, so long as this act remains unrepealed, to estimate for 1,000,0001. in his annual budget for the purpose of repaying the loan now contracted. I am perfectly aware that it may so happen that the nation may be engaged in war, or that there may be some pressing necessity which may render it inexpedient that the surplus revenue of a particular year should be applied to the reduction of this debt: if so, it will be in the power of Parliament to untie the hands of the Govern- ment, and to repeal, either permanently or temporarily, this provision which makes it necessary that the Government should provide this 1,000,0001., and

to make any provision which they may deem suited to the exigencies of the time : but until Parliament does so interfere, and does so untie the hands of the Government, itwill have to make this provision for the extinction of th debt. This is all that it is possible for us to do, for we can in no way place a limit on the future discretion of Parliament. We are all unwilling to create a permanent burden for posterity, and circumstances prevent U5 from borrowing so large a sum as the loan required in terminable annuities. IIt has been stated by the honourable Member for Huntingdon, who is en- titled to speak with great authority on this subject-and I am satisfied that his statement will be confirmed by all persons who will carefully consider the question-that a loan of 16,000,0004 cannot be effected on ter-

minable annuities without giving terms so extravagant that the Go-

vernment would be justly condemned if it agreed to accept them. I question whether, without giving terms absolutely extravagant, so large a loan could be effected at all in terminable annuities of thirty years ; for there

is a great objection on the part of the public to receive back every year a portion of their capital in driblets, subjecting them to the necessity of ex- pending their capital as income, or of reinvesting it in a troublesome manner

in small sums, under embarrassing circumstances. These would be difficulties so great that it is very questionable whether so large a loan could be ef- fected at all in terminable annuities. As it was not, therefore, in the power of the Government to effect the loan in terminable annuities, they have gone as far as they believed they possibly could-they have raised a portion in perpetual stock, and they propose at the same time to make it obligatory on the existing Government to apply for 1,000,0001. annually to extinguish the debt so created. I am willing to admit that this is not a paramount au- thority, and that Parliament has the power to rescind it ; but it is impossible for us, without making the repayment of the debt matter of specific contract between the Government and the lenders, to impose more stringent obliga-

tions." • Mr. Goulburn, in speaking of Consols as irredeemable, had confounded two distinct ideas—the reduction of interest on stock, and the extinction of stock. If the House will create a real sinking-fund, Consols, or any perpetual annui- ty, can be redeemed by the application of surplus revenue to the purchase and extinction of stock ; and thus the existence of perpetual annuities pre- sents no difficulty which impedes the extinction of the debt. With regard to the plan of raising loans by open subscription, he expressed his concur- rence with the remarks of Mr. Baring, and mentioned another disadvan- tageous circumstance,—namely, that as the Government would have to fix the price, they would lose the advantage of competition in the money- market.

The resolutions up to the 6th, providing that a sum of 1,000,000/. per annum be applied, after the conclusion of peace with Russia, towards the redemption of 16,000,0004 Consols, were agreed to; but on the 6th, Mr. GLAnsxorre made two suggestions : one, that power should be given to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to issue his 1,000,000/. a year, and to force the Commissioners to lay out that money in the reduction of some public security until an amount of Government debt had been redeemed equal to the amount which Parliament was about to create. The other was intended to strengthen the clause in the Loan Bill, so that 16,000,000/. should be applied to the redemption of the debt, although the debt might have been reduced from other sources. Sir GEORGE LEWIS promised to consider these suggeotions. The resolution was agreed to.

The resolutions affecting stamp-duties, increased duty on tea, coffee, and chicory, were agreed to without remark. In reply to some com- plaints on the increased duty on sugar, from Mr. Por.i.sao ITEciumanr, Mr. BrAcKnuntr, and others, respecting the effect of the increase on West India property, Mr. Wirsos said that "the British sugar-producing colonies were never in a more prosperous condition than at this moment." The Loan Bill, the Customs-Duties Bill, and the Spirits (Scotland and Ireland) Bill, introduced on Monday, were read a second time on Thursday.

On the second reading of the Customs-Duties Bill, the debate on the Budget was renewed. Mr. BLACILMIIIIN and Mr. HARKEY, reverting to the remark of Mr. Wilson with respect to the Sugar Colonies, showed that it was unjust to them. It is true that during the last eight years there has been an increase in the imports; but the West India interest receive leas for the larger than they did for the smaller quantity. They have not participated in the prosperity that has attended the growth of sugar in the Mauritius. Twenty years ago, Jamaica produced 70,000 tons of sugar ; that production is now diminished to 22,000 tons. The increased duty will cause a loss of 160,0001. a year to the West:India interest.

Mr. BARING thought the Chancellor of the Exchequer had made an un- fortunate selection of articles for additional taxation. The fairest plan would have been to propose an increase of 10 per cent on all the Customs- duties alike. Mr. Lima so strongly objected to the bill that he was ready to divide the House against it; for it reversed the financial policy of the last ten years. The plan of increasing the percentage of the Customs- duties has been tried and has failed; indirect taxation falls the most heavily on the poorer classes; it would have been better to have raised the Income-tax to 8 or 9 per cent, or to have raised the 16,000,0001. loan to 18,000,0001., rather than have augmented the indirect taxation. Mr. LABOUCHERE defended the distribution of burdens, as" fair and equitable " as between direct and indirect taxation. Mr. Memos and Sir WILLIAM CLAY supported these views. Mr. POLLARD URQUHART viewed with ap- prehension the beginning of a reversal of the policy of Sir Robert Peel. Mr. GLADSTONE said, it was not Sir George Lewis but himself who bad taken the first step in a retrograde course—he was the unfortunate person who, in proposing an additional duty upon sugar and upon malt, last session, took the first step to undo the great work of the last twelve or fourteen years. If it be necessary to add largely to taxation, we shall have again to face the question of protection ; we may be obliged to levy protective duties to raise money : but if ever protection be restored, it will be by compulsion stronger than, ourselves, and will come about • the time when the last Protectionist in the country shall die. Direct taxation is "theoretical and visionary " ; there can be no fairer tax than the house-tax, yet it is raised with more difficulty than any other. But while he felt the gravity of the steps then taken, he again expressed a hope that we should not attempt to escape from the necessities of the war by falling back upon the miserable expedient of trusting exclusively to loans—to the funding system' which has been a curse to mankind. Mr. Aroomt, Mr. Man; Mr. W. J. Fox, and Mr. BWART, expressed opinions hostile to the increase of indirect taxation, and favourable to additional income-tax in preference.

THE VIENNA. CONFERENCE.

Mr. Emma inquired of Lord Palmerston, on Monday, whether the conferences at Vienna were considered by the Government to be at an awl; and if so, whether Lord Palmerston would inform the House upon what day he would make a specific statement, or give docu- ments or information whereby they would be able to ascertain pre- cisely what Was the difference between the terms offered by the Allies and any terms which might have been offered by Russia as a counter- proposal, so that the House and the country might understand what the precise object was for which the war was to be continued ?

Lord PeriamasvoN rose promptly, amid cries of " Silence !" and an- swered— " The question which the honourable gentleman addressed to me is, I admit, of great and deep importance ; and I will not shrink from answering it even at the present moment. What may be the time at which the Go- vernment may think fit to make a detailed explanation, and to lay the papers before the House, I am not now in a condition to state. It is well known to the House that the English and French Governments, in concert with the Govern- ment of Austria, had determined that the proper development of the third point with respect to the treaties of 1840 and 1841, regarding the straits of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus—that the proper development of this point, I say, should be, among other things, that the preponderance of Russia in the Black Sea should be made to cease. That was the principle laid down by England and France, and agreed to by Austria ; and that principle was in the abstract accepted by the Russian Plenipotentiary on Thursday last, at the conference held in Vienna, at which the representatives of Austria, France, Turkey, England, and Russia were present. The Plenipotentiaries of England, France, Austria, and Turkey, proposed to Russia, as a mode of making that preponderance cease—as a mode of carrying out the principle which had been in fact admitted and accepted by Russia—either that the Russian naval force in the Black Sea should henceforth be limited by treaty, or that the Black Sea should henceforth be declared neutral grodnd, and that war-ships of all countries should be excluded from it, and those of com- merce only admitted. The Russian Plenipotentiary required forty-eight hours for the consideration of that point. That was granted. On Saturday the forty-eiglit hours had expired ; and on that day another conference was held, at which the Russian Plenipotentiary absolutely refused to accept of either of these alternatives. These alternatives had been pressed by the four other Plenipotentiaries unanimously. Thereupon the conference was adjourned sine die ; and my noble friend the Member for the City of London, and the French Plenipotentiary, M. Drouyn de Lhuys, take their departure from Vienna in the course of the present day." Sir HENRY WILLOUGHBY asked whether Russia made any counter- propositions. To which Lord Pinteusrox answered—" I should have stated that Russia made no counter-proposals." (Loud cries of "Hear, hear !") The subject was mooted in the House of Lords on Tuesday. The Earl of MALMESBURY, stating the nature of the four points, and objecting to the alternatives offered to Russia in the third, as affording but an insecure binds of a peace, asked Lord Clarendon whether it is intended that Prussia shall be one of the protecting powers of the Danubian Principalities; and whether he would lay the official papers telating to the conference on the table ? The country has a right to know what we are going to fight for, and what the Government may consider to be the sine qua non for the expenditure of so much blood and treasure ?

In reply, the Earl of CLARENDON made a statement similar to Lord Palmerston's, but somewhat differently expressed.

"When the third point came under discussion, the representatives of the Allied Powers, in order to prove that they had no wish to humiliate Russia, but, on the contrary, desired to consult her dignity, proposed to the Russian representatives themselves to take the initiative as to the means by which they would give effect to the principle of that proposition. The Russian plenipotentiaries acknowledged the courtesy of the proceeding, but asked for time to refer to their Government. That time was given ; but in the mean- while, and for obvious reasons, we declined to go on with the discussion of the fourth point. The answer from St. Petersburg arrived, and it was that the Russian Government had no proposition to make. The Allied represent- atives on the following day brought forward their proposals, and the Rus- sian plenipotentiaries asked forty-eight hours to consider them. That time was also given ; and on Saturday last they absolutely rejected the proposals

both as to limitation in and exclusion from the Black Sea

"With respect to the other point to which my noble friend has alluded— the position which Prussia has occupied in the course of these negotiations, I can only say that the position which Prussia has occupied, and which she continues to occupy, entirely excluded her from the conference, and there- fore from all the arrangements that might have been made. With respect to other points to which my noble friend has referred, as to the consequences, for example, that might be expected from the limitation of the power of Russia in the Black Sea, and the manner in which Russia would be bound by stipulations, I think that at this moment it would not be convenientto refer to them till your Lordships are fully in possession of all the informa- tion you are entitled to, and which, I assure pop, the Government will be most ready to furnish." Further, in reply to a question from the Earl of HARDWICK; request- ing to know what information the Government had with respect to the prospects of the war in connexion with Austria, Lord CLARENDON said, he could not give a very distinct answer. "Your Lordships are well aware of what are the terms of the treaty to which Austria agreed on the 2d of December last with her Majesty's Go- vernment and the Government of the Emperor of the French, and I have no reason to think that Austria will depart from the terms of that agreement. I can only say, that on Friday last Austria appears to have held precisely the same language as the representatives of England, France, and Turkey, to the Russian plenipotentiaries ; and your Lordships will remember, that it is only on peace not being made on the bases laid down in the treaty that Austria is to be called on to concert measures for carrying those stipulations into execution. That time has not yet arrived, and therefore it is quite im- possible for me to Ray what precise course Austria will take."

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY BILL.

On the motion for going into Committee on this bill, the LORD Crux- cotton stated some of its prominent features.

It is the result of a Royal Commission to inquire into the condition of the University of Cambridge, which made its report on the 31st August 1852. If the measure were in any way offensive, it would be an

ill- deserved return for the anxiety shown by the University during the last half-century to improve the character of its studies and to discharge its duties. The object of the bill, therefore, was to place the authorities in a position to do what they were anxious to do if their statutes permitted them. It was proposed to constitute a Board, or Commission, of whom he would name six—the Earl of Burlington, Lord Monteagle, the Bishop of Chester, Mr. Baron Alderson, Professor Sedgwick, and Mr. John Le- fevre ; probably two other names will be added to these. This body, fairly representing the interests of the University and the public, will have power to submit to the Senate such measures as may be needed. The Caput, at present, is obstructive by its constitution ; being substantially named by the Vice-Chancellor and the Heads of Houses. No alteration can be proposed to the Senate unless it receives the assent of every mem- ber of the Caput—that is, of every Head of a House. To leave the Coun- cil of the University thus constituted, would be discreditable. • He did not propose to constitute it as the Council at Oxford is consti- tuted, because there is no select body at Cambridge like the Congregation at Oxford, and because two Colleges, Trinity and St. John's, preponderate over the rest. The Senate consists of 4500 members : of these 1500 belong to Trinity, and 900 to St. John's College. During the last thirty years every Member for the University belonged to either one of these Colleges. More than a year before the Commission of 1850 was issued, a Syndicate, appointed by the University, had recommended that the Caput should consist of three members appointed by the Heads of Houses, three by the Doctors, three by the Professors, and three each by the Regent and the Non-Regent Masters of Arta. No propositions could be submitted to the Senate which had not received the sanction of a majority of this body. He had adopted that recommendation ; but he proposed to omit the Doctors as a class, and to constitute the Caput of four Heads of Houses, four Professors, four senior and four junior Mae- ters of Arts. It is proposed to render the taking of a large number of oaths unnecessary, and illegal to administer oaths not to disclose anything relating to the Colleges or aid in the promotion of any changes in the sta- tutes. The bill would also allow Private Halls to be opened at Cambridge ; give power to the Colleges and the University to alter and modify trusts, the original views of the testator notwithstanding ; render any oath or de- claration on matriculation unnecessary ; and enable a student to take the degree of Bachelor of Arts without making a religious declaration, but so as to exclude him from ecclesiastical advantages. The Lord Chancellor proposed to go into Committee on the bill, for the purpose of introducing the alterations which he had described.

Lord LYNDHURST, High Steward of the University of Cambridge, ex- pressed his regret that it should have been expedient or necessary for the Government to introduce this bill. It had seemed to him that it would have been better to introduce a bill enabling the University to give effect to its own amendments, rather than to bring in a measure like the present. Still, after the passing of the Oxford bill, it would have been difficult, perhaps improper, to have followed that course. The Universities now exercise far less influence on public feeling than they did at no distant day. When he entered public life, he found that the majority of the Members of the House of Commons had been edu- cated in one of the Universities; but now not more than one-sixth or at most one-fifth have been so educated. With regret he heard the system and mode of instruction pursued at Cambridge described as obsolete and behind the ago. There is no foundation for such an opinion. Describing the course of study, he pronounced that "no system can be better calcu- lated to form the character of a gentleman, using that term in its most comprehensive sense—none better calculated for preparing a young man to enter on his career of life, whatever it may be, whether the study of the learned professions, of political science, or of literature."

"My Lords, no university has ever produced more distinguished or more

extraordinary men than has the University of Cambridge. It gave to the world the great father of inductive philosophy, Bacon, and the immortal Newton. It produced Milton, the sublimest of poets, Spenser, the majestic Dryden, Cowley, Byron, and a long line of illustrious men of our own day. Among men renowned for their knowledge of English jurisprudence whom it numbered among its sons, are the noble names of Coke, of Camden, of Thurlow. In the statesmen who sprang from it are the sagacious Burleigh, the brilliant Walpole, and that finished orator and greatest of statesmen

i

William Pitt. Nor n modern times has it failed to furnish the country with a noble example of a statesman in the person of my noble friend the Marquis of Lansdowne]; than whom no one has shown, during his long career as a statesman and a member of your Lordships House, more tact, more eloquence, or more sterling good sense. Then again, when I look to the Right Reverend benches, I cannot but call to mind the names of thaw great classical and learned men whom Cambridge has produced—Jeremy Taylor, Bentley, Person, and a long list, to repeat whose names alone would occupy a summer's day. Such, mfLords, is the system of instruction which has been followed at the University of Cambridge, and which even in old times produced such glorious fruits. Let us, therefore, be careful bow we impair the efficiency of that system by new devices, interfering with that solid system of education which has hitherto been followed by such splendid results."

In the bill he saw no specific clause making alterations in the mode of conveying instruction ; but from sundry provisions, and what he had heard, he was led to suppose that an extensive alteration is contemplated. He was not prepared to say that there are not defects in the mode of edu- cation by tutors in College ; but the system of private tutors, which leads to cramming, overtasks the faculties, and weakens the intellect, should be the exception rather than the rule. With respect to Private Halls, he did not object to their establishment ; but he contended that they would not be cheaper than Colleges, nor would they present any advantages to Dissenters, aince their Heads must declare themselves to be members of the Churoli of England.

The Earl of Povns Lord Rennsmsr.e., and Lord CANNING took part in the discussion ; looking favourably on the bill, and offering only some criticism on details.

The bill passed through Committee.

THE MARRIAGE LAW.

Mr. HEYWOOD moved the second reading of the Marriage Law Amend- ment Bill on Wednesday morning ; and the debate arising occupied the whole of the sitting. . Mr. WALrorar moved that the bill be read a second time that day six months. Premising that the proposed measure is abhorrent to the peo- ple of Scotland and Ireland, a large majority of the English people, and the great bulk of the clergy, he advanced the usual arguments against it on religious and social grounds. If you infer from the disputed verse in the 18th • chapter of Leviticus that a man is only prohibited from marry- ing his wife's sister in his wife's lifetime, might you not draw another in- ference, equally sound, that he might marry any other woman? The prohibitions in the 18th chapter place consanguinity and affinity upon the same footing ; and if a man cannot marry his own sister' neither can he marry his wife's sister, for man and wife are declared to be one flesh. It is distinctly declared abominable for two brothers to marry the same woman one after the other: why then should not two sisters marrying the same man fall within the same prohibition The prohibitions are addressed equally to both sexes. As to the social question, why should the law be altered because a comparatively few persons desire a change ? It is true that in many cases an aunt is the best of guardians, but for that very reason she should not be turned into a bad stepmother. If the law were altered the chances of such guardianship would be diminished : a wife's sister could no longer, as now, live under the same roof with the man she may marry or live on the same terms of intimacy with the widowed husband. He earnestly entreated the House to pause, and con- sider what an effect the allowance of these marriages would have upon domestic society, private virtue, and public morality.

The A•rronNEY-Grunnten vigorously supported the bill with the argu- ments usual on that side. He gave a new turn to the verse in Leviti- cus, which, by its very terms, applied to a living, not to a deceased wife. With the exception of a small sect, the Hebrew people always held that these marriages were permitted. At the present time, there is not a single country in Europe with the exception of England in which the marriage with a deceased wife's sister is not legal when a dispensation has been obtained ; and when Protestant Europe is divided in opinion as to the construction to be placed upon the Levitical law, what right has the Parliament of this country to impose their views upon those who conscientiously differ from them ? The evils which it is said will result,

in a social point of view, from a change in the law, are purely specula- tive and theoretical. Where these marriages are permitted, in Sweden, Denmark, Holland, the United States, the state of domestic morals is as high as in this country.

• The debate continued pretty much on the same grounds as those laid down by the first two speakers. Mr. Wianax, Mr. NAPIER, Mr. Say- Man, Mr. WHITESIDE, followed up and enforced the arguments of Mr. Walpole in behalf of the existing law ; while Mr. Comisa, Mr. MONCK- TOM MILERS, and Mr. THOMAS CHAMBERS, advocated the proposed altera- tion.

A little before six o'clock, on the motion of Sir W

LIAM HEATHEOTE,

the debate was adjourned till the 9th May.

TESTAMENTARY JURISDICTION.

The order for the second reading of the Testamentary Jurisdiction Bill led to a debate terminating in an adjournment. 3Ir. Meures, pre- senting a petition against the hill from bankers and merchants of the city of London' moved that it be read a second time that day six months. He was supported by Sir FREDERICK MESMER and Mr. WHITESME. The chief point of objection was the transfer of the jurisdiction to the Court of Chancery, instead of following the recommendation of the Com- missioners and establishing a separate Court of Probate; and to the pro- position for throwing open the business to attomies which would give facilities for frauds.

On the other side, Mr. Rourmrsx PALMER and Mr. HEADLAM supported the bill; urging, that for the purpose of putting an end to a division of jurisdiction, it is necessary that the powers of the Ecclesiastical Courts should be transferred to the Court of Chancery ; and that there would not be greater facilities to frauds under the proposed than under the present system. Mr. Comma supported the bill, as an improvement upon the existing system, because it abolished and did not attempt to reform the Ecclesiastical Courts. But be thought there should be no separate Court of Probate, and that County Courts should have jurisdic- tion where the property is under sool. or 5001.

The debate was adjourned till Monday, on the motion of Mr. Rolm= Nnwseeres-sTARP Bus.

In Committee on this bill, Mr. COLLIER proposed an amendment on clause 2, to the effect that newspapers stamped with a halfpenny stamp, or bearing a halfpenny postage-stamp, should be entitled to one transmis- sion by the post, and to an additional transmission for each halfpenny stamp subsequently affixed. The proposition met with the support of Mr. COWAN and Mr. Rmaow ; it was opposed by Lord STANLEY' Sir GEORGE Lnwis, Mr. GLADSTONE, and Mr. MILNER GLEsoN, and was ulti- mately withdrawn.

On clause 4, providing that periodical publications entitled to free

transmission by post may be registered at the Inland Revenue Office in the same manner as newspapers are now required to be registered, there was considerable debate as to the propriety of compulsory registration enforced by penalties, and the optional registration proposed by the clause. Sir GEORGE LEWIS objected to compulsory clauses; but as there seemed a feeling in favour of compulsion in this case, Mr. Wirrrnsine moved an amendment to that effect. This led to further debate. Mr. GLADSTONE opposed both the clause and the amendment ; because the former would put the law upon an irrational footing ; the latter would give unnecessary trouble. Mr. DISRAELI supported the amendment. The press is a great power, and it should be under a corresponding responsibility. After some further opposition both to the clause and the amendment, the clause was postponed, and the amendment was withdrawn.

At clause 1; the Chairman reported progress, and the Committee was ordered to sit again on Monday next.

Rnx.iorons Trsrs.

Mr. Ihrrwoon moved that the House should go into Committee on the Act of Uniformity, with the view of dealing with religious tests which limit the advantages of academical, grammar, or free school education. The precise scope of the motion does not seem to have been understood, and the motion, after fruitless debate, was withdrawn.

TELEGRAPH TO THE CRIMEA.

Mr. LAYARD, remarking that he had beard that the electric telegraph had been opened to Balaklava on Wednesday or Thursday, asked whether any information had been received from the seat of war, and whether the telegraph will be available for the public ?

Lord Persieaszois answered, that the telegraph is open ; that the First Lord of the Admiralty received messages on Wednesday and Thursday, but that those messages simply announced the opening of the telegraph, and contained no news from the Crimea.

Afterwards, on a question by Mr. Rom:tees, Sir CHARLES WOOD ex- plained that the telegraph is not open the whole way, as there is a break between Varna and Cape Kelegra. Lord PAL.MERSTON said he intended to request the Minister of War to urge Lord Raglan "to let us have every day some information of what is passing at the seat of war."

"Courn Ore

While Mr. BAILLIE, on Tuesday, was calling attention to the adminis- tration of the Post-office, and proposing that a postal communication should without delay be opened between the islands of North and South Uist, Harris and Barra, the House was counted; and as there were only thirty-eight Members present, the Speaker quitted the chair.

THE SEBASTOPOL INQUIRY.

The Committee continued its sittings on Monday; - and the examina- tion of the Duke of Newcastle occupied the whole of the first three days of the week. His evidence related to a great variety of matters pertain- ing to the whole of his administration. When the office of Colonial Minister, previously filled by the Duke of Newcastle, was separated from the Ministry of War, no further change was made. The direction of the war was already in the Duke's hands, and he communicated as before with the heads of departments in the management of the troops. In the appointment of superior officers, the names were submitted to him by Lord Hardinge before they were recom- mended to the Sovereign ; but in three cases, through the inadvertence of Lord Hardinge, appointments were made without consulting him. The Duke showed some reluctance to mention the names ; but the Committee pressed, and he said they were Lord Lucan and Generals Torrena and Goldie. He did not formally object to those appointments, but he told Lord Hardinge privately that it was an irregular proceeding. Orders were first issued fur sending out the expedition to the East on the 9th February. The object of the expedition was to protect the Turk- ish empire from the invasion of the Russians. Malta was selected u the first landing-place of the 10,000 troops sent out, because the steam trans- ports conveying them might be sent home for more troops, and the troops at Malta being sent on by sailing transports the whole force would reach Turkey in one half the time. Gallipoli was chosen as a stall= on the report of three officers of Engineers sent to Turkey in January 1854. One of them, Colonel Vicars, was taken ill at Gibraltar ; and when asked to select another, Sir John Burgoyne very handsomely offered to go himself. Soon after that, Major Dixon was sent to ascer- tain what parts were safe and salubrious for encampments. Early in February, Mr. Commissary Smith was sent from Corfu to pro- vide for the army at Gallipoli ; and vast supplies of all kinds were for- warded. The army was ordered to move to Varna on the 22d April. Lord Raglan had received from Omar Pasha the strongest assurances as to its salubrity. Omar Pasha, in a letter which the Duke produced, said that if the army kept clear of Lake Devna, and encamped on the heights to the South, they would have a fine climate and plenty of water. If the arms: did not keep clear of Lake Dena, they did not follow Omar Pasha's instructions. On the 27th of June, the telegraph reported that the Russians had raised the siege of Silistria ; and the Duke of Newcastle instructed Lord Raglan to prepare for an expedition to the Crimea, directed against Sebastopol. With regard to whether the instructions sent by the Duke should be read, there was some discussion ; but ulti- mately the Committee decided that he should read the instructions. Thereupon the Duke read two despatches, the first dated 10th April 1854.

That despatch pressed upon Lord Raglan the necessity for making care- ful and secret inquiries into the condition and amount of the Russian army in the Crimea and the strength of the fortress of Sebastopol, as in the event of the Russians making any further movement it might become essential that operations of an offensive character should be undertaken. No blow could be struck at the Southern extremity of the Russian empire which would more than the taking of Sebastopol and the destruction of the Rus- sian fleet tend to the,condusion of a solid and satisfactory peace. It recom- mended Lord Raglan to ascertain whether during the last few months the works of the fortress had been materially strengthened on the land aide, Captain Drummond having reported on the sea defences; and requested his Lordship to make himself acquainted with the facilities for landing troops upon any part of the coast between Ka& and Eupatoria : he was also re- quested to ascertain, if possible, the number of troops in the Crimea, (re- ported to be 30,000,) and how they were distributed ; and, as it was stated that the water for the town was derived frem a source eight miles off, it was important and advisable to ascertain that fact. The amount of provision for the garrison and the town wax also an important point to be ascertained if possible; and, as the siege-train could not arrive for three or four weeks, the despatch urged upon the general in command the necessity Of using the interval to obtain the required information. The Duke also read a despatch, dated hue "29, two days after the Government received informa- tion of the raising of the siege of Silistria, which, after referring to the de- spatch of the 10th of April, stated that the gallant and successful resistance of the Turkish army had compelled the Russian army to. raise the siege of Silistria, and it was expected they would evacuate the Principalities; conse- quently the safety of Constantinople was for the time secured. No further advance of the Allied army could on any account be contemplated, as to oc- cupy the Dobrudscha would be dangerous to the health of the troops; and Lord Raglan was desired to concert measures for undertaking the siege of Sebastopol, unless he should be in .possession of information unknown to the Government, and which, in his opinion, left no reasonable prospect of success in the undertaking. If he should be of opinion that the united strength of the armies was insufficient for the purpose, he was not precluded from ex i- ercing that discretion which had been originally intrusted to him, although the Government was of opinion that the difficulties in the way of the siege of Sebastopol were of a nature more likely tobe increased than diminished by delay. As the communications by sea were in the hands of the Allies, it was of importance to cut off the communication between the Crimea and thereat of the Russian dominions ;'which object would be obtained by the occupation of Pere- hop, if a sufficient number of the Turkish army could be spared, and assisting them with English and French officers to advise them ; and that, as Captain Drummond had recommended, vessels of a light-draught of water should be obtained if possible, to prevent the passage Of troops from the Sea of Auff. The despatch, after noticing the importance of selecting favourable weather for a descent upon the coast of the Crimea, referred to the Russian fortifica- tions on the Eastern shore of the Black Bea, and Observed that the reduction of Anapa and Soudjak Icaleh would be, next to the capture of Sebastopol, of the greatest-importance ; but their fall was of less consequence than that of the other places, as the reduction of Sebastopol would in all probability im- mediately lead to their surrender. In the:event of. delay -being necessary, the despatch invited Lord Raglan to considet with Marshal Bt. Arnaud whe- ther the Turkish army could not be made available to _ieterrupt the march of the Russian army ; and, after expressing reliance that Lord Raglan would not expose the army to unnecessary risk, it concluded by observing at the same time, that it was to the gallantry of the troops under his command that the country was looking to secure the results of a just war for the vin- dication of national honour and the restoration of pence in Europe.

[The Committee would not call for Lord Raglan's reply, apparently be- cause it spoke of the French army ; but the Chairman undertook to move the House of Commons for produCtion of the entire despatch, the Duke of Newcastle objecting to a partial production.] Lord Rag/an reported that he could not obtain the information required by the despatch; and that he did not think it practicable or advisable to occupy l'erekop, as the Rus- sians had another access to the Crimea, some miles to the East. There was no intention of wintering in the Crimea ; it was a necessity that grew under the circumstances.

When the expedition was sent out, it was intended itshould consist of 25,000 men ; and General Cathcart's division, of 6000 or 7000, formed the first reserve. The reserve should have been larger . every effort was made to increase it ; and ten regiments were recalled from the Colonies, most of whom are now in the Crimea. At the end of November, General 'Cathcart's division having joined the army, another reserve of 10,000 men was formed at Malta. In consequence of the pressure, recruits were sent out whom it would have been advisable to keep at home another year. With regard to recruiting, Lord Hardinge and other military men were adverse to raising the bounty ; but from the first the Duke thought it an advisable measure.

With regard to Foreign auxiliary troops, the War Office was flooded with offers to raise them. When the Foreign Enlistment Bill pawed, the Duke appointed General Chesney and Colonel Pascoe to organize it ; but after they were called "cut-throats" in Parliament, foreign officers of the highest character refused to have anything to do with it. Before that, applications arrived from all parts of Europe at the rate of thirty or forty a day. The Duke stated that from the first he had urged the formation of a Turkish contingent. Even before Lord Raglan left England, an attempt was made to raise light cavalry officered by Indian officers; -but Lord Raglan thought such a force would not be equal to Russian cavalry. Attempts were made to. organize the Bashi-buouks ; but they failed. The Duke always attached great importance to the employment of Turkish troops with Epglish officers.

Asked whether there were any differences of military opinion expressed to him as to the expedition to the Crimea, he mentioned that Lord Harding° and Lord Seaton both approved of it.

The Commissariat was under the control of Sir Charles Trevelyan up to the 22d December : for any of its Inches the Duke was officially but not morally responsible. In time of war the Commissariat ought to be subordinate to the Minister of War. Existing arrangements do not ac- cord with the Duke's views, which are dependent on a larger scheme of alteration.

With regard to land transport, it is not accurate to say that the army had no means of moving in Bulgaria. The army could have moved, although not with that complete efficiency with which it coul& after longer preparation; but it was not in a condition to move until a period a little before the siege of Silistria was raised, when Omar Pasha had supplied a large number of arabas. From the reports of Mr. Filder, the Duke had no reason to suppose the means of transport were deficient But the transport service had fallen into such a condition in the hands of the Commissariat that the Duke decided upon a radical change, and or- ganized the land transport corps on a military system.

When he knew the army would winter in the Crimea—that was, after the battle of Inkerman—he ordered huts, woollen clothing, and comforts of all descriptions. In August he had ordered extraordinary supplies of warm clothing, but that was lost in the Prince. Measures were taken to supply the army with fresh provisions, preserved meats, and vegetables ; but in the winter the army was not supplied with fresh provisions more than twice a week. A large number of transports were left at the dis- posal of the army, especially for the purpose of facilitating its supplies ; and if they were not so used it was contrary to his intention. Huts were ordered at Trieste, Constantinople, and at home ; and from the formes and latter they were sent with great celerity : they arrived in time to be of use, but there was a difficulty in conveying them to the front. Find- ing no road had been made, at the end of November the Duke ordered steps to be taken for the construction of a railroad.

The Duke 'took steps to organize the hospitals by giving Dr. Smith full directions. At first it was not known where the hospitals would be, but in August every direction had been given to Dr. Smith to organize them at Scutari. About that time the Duke heard complaints, and he mentioned them to Dr. Smith,—such as the insufficiency of port wine and arrowroot ; the non-delivery of 40,000 cholera-belts sent out; and the removal of the wounded after the Alma. It was after the last-named complaints that Dr. Smith suggested that there should be hospital-ships for the conveyance of the sick and wounded from the Crimea to Scutari. The Duke communicated with Sir James Graham, and instructions were sent; but they were not attended to, and a second order had to be sent. With regard to the bad state of the hospitals, no official information of the kind reached the Duke. Dr. Smith assured him that the supplies of stores were ample. -Until after the appointment of Lord William Paulet, he knew nothing of the horrors of the passage by _au from Balaklava to Scutari. He sent out a Commission to inquire into the state of the hos- pitals. Clothing and bedding might have been obtained at Constantino- ple. Lord Stratford had full power to supply all that was needed, but he had no authority over the hospitals. For their condition all the au- thorities, each in his degree, were responsible. There was no conflict be- tween the Medical Department and the War Office : literally, Dr. Smith was justified in saying he had four masters, but practically his only real master was the Duke of Newcastle. The whole of Dr. Smith's letter with regard to clothing was not brought under the Duke's notice. In. conversation, Dr. Smith made suggestions, that the soldier's coats were too light—Lord Hardinge undertook to remedy that ; and that the stock should be given up—Lord Raglan, at the Duke's remonstrance, aban- doned them, and allowed the beard to be worn.

In the course of his evidence the Duke of Newcastle said that great difficulties had arisen from the multiplicity of "forms," which in numer- ous instances he was compelled to supersede on his own personal responsi- bility. These difficulties existed with regard to all the departments subordi- nate to the Secretary for War. The Ordnance Department, the Medical De- partment, and the relations between the Horse Guards and the Minister of War, were extremely unsatisfactory. The delay with regard to inventions did'not arise from forms, properly speaking, but from the faulty construction of the scientific committee, which could, not keep down the accumulation of work. Before he left office he effected some change. As an illustration of the discordant relations of-the departments, it came out in the evidence that an order given by the Duke of Newcastle for the construction of huts was stopped in its execution by the Board of Ordnance!

With regard to the-numbers of the army, the Duke said-

" The earliest return I have is the exact force °fate army on the 17th of November, a few days after the battle of Inkerman. On that day there were under arms, deducting all the sick, 19,805 effective men ; in command and batmen 4647; officers and noncommissioned officers, 2192; making a total of 26,64 effective. This includes cavalry and artillery. No great rein- forcement had arrived as early as the 17th of November. On the 19th of January the total number of effective troops of all arms, by a similar return, was 26,080. On the 23d of December the total number of effective troops was 29,921—exceeding the number stated in the House of Commons to have been the effective force of the army at that date."

Two witnesses were examined on Thursday ; Mr. Potter, of the firm of Price and Potter, and Mr. Deputy Commissary-General Smith. Mr. Potter's evidence told the history of the huts constructed at Glou- cester for the Crimea. It mainly illustrated the delays that arose in consequence of indecision and change of plan on the part of the Ord- nance Department ; corroborated the statement of the Duke of New- castle; and confuted a letter sent to the Chairman, which gave a coloured and inaccurate account of the transaction.

Mr. Smith described his proceedings at Constantinople since he was' sent there in March. In speaking of the irregularities that occurred at Gallipoli, arising from want of land-transport, he said they were of that character which could not be altogether avoided in sending an army into a new countxy. Stores and granaries were established from the first at Constantinople, containing salt meat, rum, and forage. "There was an abundant supply of forage and corn wherever it was wanted, except in the camp." There was also a reserve of 4000 cattle at Constan- tinople and 2000 at Smyrna. They would have been constantly forwarded to the army had there been means' of sea-transport : but Admiral Boxer, who had it under his control, was "a confused man " ; the shipmasters bad "little respect for and no fear of him." The Tonning, sent down for cattle in November, was detained three weeks; the Albatross was detained three weeks; the Harbinger, sent down for vegetables, and other vessels, suffered a similar delay.. The great want of transport was always the chief difficulty. Many vessels were injured in the storm of tho 14th November ; and "that explains much of the unfortunate situation in which the troops were afterwards placed." Vhen he pressed Admiral Boxer to expedite the ships, he was charac- terized as a "bore." Admiral Boxer was everything that could be wished as a sailor, but he had little administrative talent. With respect to the project of roasting coffee at Constantinople, Mr. Smith said that no one person could have been found to undertake it, and to have divided it through Constantinople would have been injudicious. With regard to the hospitali, he said that he had given the medical officers to understand that they could always obtain funds from the Commissariat to purchase anything for the hospitals.

[Much of the significance of the Duke's evidence lay in what may be called the negative portions, or in statements which he abstained from making. Several questions scattered throughout his whole examination led him to point.out that when the office of Secretary for War was divided from that of Secretary for the Colonies there was no increase to the powers of the War Minister. It was his opinion that all the departments of War ought to have been brought under one root This opinion was brought out by degrees ; but he laid very great stress upon it, as absolutely essential to unity of action, and to the discontinuance of the enormous correspond- ence in which exertion is wasted. He had said in Parliament, that when the Secretaryships were divided no great good could be effected without more extensive changes. "That opinion,' observed Sir John Pakington, interrogatively, "was overruled by the Cabinet?" "It was determined that nothing more should be done at the moment," answered the Duke, "than the separation of the two Ste:retaryships of State and the removal of the Commissariat" Again in another part, speaking of the time when he was in office, the Duke said—" I represented the state of the Ord- nance department as extremely unsatisfactory: I believe some changes are in contemplation." The Duke stated that he communicated the information which he received from the Crimea to his colleagues. "Lord Hardiuge, of course, received information from the army in Turkey, but few official communications which he thought worth while to send to me." [The eantext might make this remark apply to the fact that Lord Raglan usually communicated direct with the Secretary of State ; but it also seems susceptible of another interpretation.] The Duke made two orders of small-arms upon the manufacturers at Liege ; the second order prevented the execu- tion of a Russian order for 100,000 muskets. "Sir Thomas Hastings was responsible for the small-arms." "The order of arms from Liege was made against the remonstrances of Sir Thomas Hastings "—[we be- lieve, as in some other cases, on the personal responsibility of the Duke.] Lord Aberdeen was in town throughout the year, except for the time that he was in official attendance upon the Queen at Balmoral; the Duke of Newcastle the whole year, except three days in September, when he was in official attendance on Prince Albert at Boulogne. • From August last to the middle of October no Cabinet Council was held : "it is the ordinary practice not to hold any from the prorogation of Parliament until some day in October: the expedition to the Crimea had been ordered before that time."

"Can you state to the Committee what members of the Cabinet were ab- sent from London during the time in which no Cabinet Councils were held? "—"I dare say I could, but if I made a mistake I feel it would be unjust towards others : I believe the Court circular would tell it better." "Having so great a responsibility on you, did you ever make any remon- strance on no Cabinet Council having been held in that period ? "—" In private I have stated that it would have relieved me of a great weight of re- sponsibility.") In the House, on Monday, the appointment of a new Member of Com- mittee, in the room of Mr. John Ball, gave rise to considerable discussion and party warmth. Mr. ROEBUCK stated, that, at the suggestion of Sir John Palrington, the Committee had decided that it did not need any addition to its numbers. This did not satisfy Mr. BENTINCK, who moved that Captain Gladstone should be appointed. Lord P.ALMERSTON said, it was indifferent to him whether the motion were carried or not. Mr. DISRAELI accused the Premier of treating the Committee with con- temptuous indifference and supported the motion with "much vehement rhetoric." Other Members took part, and a division seemed imminent ; but Mr. Itoeirecx declined to divide. Lord PALMERSTON said, if the Chairman of the Committee had no objection to the motion, he had none -either. (Gr-eat laughter.) Thus far he was ready to show the extent of his indifference.—Motion agreed to.