a majority of 3, by which persons who lend money upon profits are, in cases of insolvency or bankruptcy, deprived of any claim until other creditors have been paid. The Parochial School (Scotland) Bill, the Militia Ballot Suspension Bill, Deeds (Scotland) Bill, and Procedure before Justices (Scotland) Bill, were read a third time, and passed. The Lords' amendments to the Police (Counties and Boroughs) Bill were agreed to. The Coalwhippers' (Port of London) Bill was withdrawn. July (LORDS.) The Nawab of Surat Bill was thrown out, on the 8. motion for a second reading. (COMMONS.) In Committee of Ways and Means, a vote of 24,500,0007, was passed for the service of Her Majesty. The Appellate Jurisdiction Bill was discussed, and the second reading was carried by 191 to 142. The Encumbered Estates Court (Ireland) Bill was considered in Committee. July 8. (LORDS.) The bill for repeal of Obsolete Statutes and the Commissioners of Supply (Scotland) Bill were read a third time, and passed. (COMMONS.) The Public Health Bill was thrown out. The Registration of Leases (Scotland) Bill was read a third time, and passed. Mr. Fitzroy presented the report on Customs, and a bill on the subject was brought in, and read a first time. July 9. the Exchequer having explained the views and intentions of (COMMONS.) Lord Goderich moved that the House go into Committee on the Civil Service Bill, when the Chancellor of the Government, Lord Goderich withdrew his motion. July 10. (LORDS.) Lord Campbell said he felt it his duty to bring before the notice of the House the necessity which seemed to him to exist for some new law, with a view to regulate the sale of poisons. The crime of poisoning had become most alarmingly on the increase. Some years ago poisoning by arsenic had been very prevalent; for arsenic could be as easily procured at that time as Epsom salts, until the present Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland introduced a bill which had greatly checked that abuse. It would be most desirable that a bill should be introduced which would establish proper regulations for the sale of poisons in general. The Lord Chancellor said that five years ago this subject had been under the consideration of the Government, and the result was the introduction of a measure referring only to the sale of arsenic. There were found to be serious difficulties in defining what poison was. It had been stated by one of the most eminent physicians in the metropolis that there were no less than seventeen poisons as deadly as arsenic; and it was feared that it would be attended with bad consequences to include those in the bill. The Lord Chancellor brought in a bill to enable the Bishops of London and Durham to surrender their sees. After a short discussion, the bill was read a first time. (COMMONS.) The Appellate Jurisdiction Bill was thrown out by a vote of 155 to 133. The Revenue (Transfer of Charges) Bill, and the Encumbered Estates (Ireland) Bill, were read a third time, and passed. July (LORDS.) A discussion on the management of Indian affairs arose on the presentation of a petition by the Earl of Ellen11. borough from native landholders in the Punjab. In answer to Lord Lyndhurst, who condemned the terms of the amnesty recently published by the Emperor of Russia, especially in relation to the exiled Poles, Lord Clarendon said that it had been rumoured and expected that the Emperor intended to behave generously towards the Poles, but the plenipotentiaries found that they could not interfere. (COMMONS.) Sir William Williams of Kars took his seat as M.P. for Calne, amid the cheers of the House. The House went into Committee on the County Courts Act Amendment Bill. July (LORDS.) Lord Lyndhurst, in an elaborate and powerful 14. speech, called the attention of the House to the condition of Austrian Italy, and the Neapolitan territory, urging that the atrocities perpetrated in that unhappy country called for some decisive interference from the British Government. The Earl of Clarendon said that in the present state of our negociations with Naples it would not be advisable to resort to force, as any hope of permanent amelioration must rest upon the unforced action of the Governments in Italy. The Marquis of Lansdowne said that it was not only the right but the duty of one nation to interfere in the affairs of another, when humanity was outraged by arbitrary power; but he believed that the interposition of Parliament at the present moment would not lead to any beneficial results. (COMMONS.) Lord John Russell addressed the House on the subject of Italian misgovernment, and the oppression under which the Italian people were now suffering, expressing his hope that Government would be able to do something to procure a remedy for the deplorable state of affairs in Italy. A long discussion followed; but the members of the Government intimated, that as remonstrances had been addressed by them to the Neapolitan government, and negociations were in progress, nothing more could be done at present. The Partnership Act Amendment Bill was withdrawn. The Poor Law Amendment (Scotland) Bill was read a third time, and passed. July (LORDS.) It was stated that the appointment just made of a General Commanding in Chief was in the same terms as those 15. in which the appointment of his predecessor had been made. (COMMONS.) The Coast Guard Service Bill was read a second time. It proposes to transfer the control of the Coast Guard from the Board of Customs to the Admiralty. On the motion of Lord Palmerston, the House agreed to adjourn till Thursday, in consequence of the review at Aldershott to-morrow. Mr. Oliveira moved for a Committee to take into consideration the propriety of a reduction of the duty on foreign and colonial wines, but the Chancellor of the Exchequer having objected to the measure on financial grounds, Mr. Oliveira withdrew his motion. July (LORDS.) The House went into Committee on the Bishops 17. of London and Durham Retirement Bill. (COMMONS.) The House went into Committee on the Corrupt Practices at Elections Prevention Continuance Bill. (LORDS.) The Earl of Lucan moved for an address to the July Crown for a copy of the Report of the Chelsea Commissioners 18. on the Crimean Inquiry. Lord Panmure said that the Report would be produced on Monday next. (COMMONS.) Several bills were read a third time, and passed; amongst which were the General Board of Health Continuance Bill, the Marriage Law (Scotland) Amendment Bill, and the Coast Guard Service Bill. The Lords' amendments to the Cambridge University Bill were agreed to. The Chancellor of the Exchequer withdrew the Civil Service Superannuation Bill. The Leases and Sales of Settled Estates Bill passed through Committee, with the insertion of a clause to prevent the present owner of Hampstead Heath from building thereon. The Bill for constituting a Vice-President of the Committee of Council on Education, with a salary of 2,000l. a-year, passed through Committee. July 21. (LORDS.) The Royal assent was given, by commissioni, to forty-three public and private bills. It was stated by Lord Panmure that arrangements were being made for disembodying and sending home the soldiers of the Foreign Legion now in this country. In reply to the Earl of Malmesbury, it was stated by the Earl of Clarendon, that it was true that the Russians had dismantled since the peace the fortresses of Ismail and Reni, although they had no right to do so. He hoped that nothing more would occur to hinder the carrying out of the object of the treaty of peace. The Russian ambassador might be expected to arrive in this country in about a week from this time. The Bill to provide for the retirement of the Bishops of London and Durham was read a third time, and passed, by a majority of 26 to 15. Many other bills were forwarded a stage. (COMMONS.) The Judge Advocate brought up the Report of the Chelsea Commissioners on the Crimean Inquiry. Mr. Vernon Smith presented the annual statement on Indian affairs. The Lords' amendments to the Parochial Schools (Scotland) Bill were, on the motion of the Lord Advocate, disagreed with, and the clause was restored which abolished the tests hitherto required from schoolmasters. July 22. 6 (LORDS.) A large number of bills went through the process of the second reading,' this being the last day of the session on which this stage in their progress to maturity could be accomplished. (COMMONS.) The County Courts Act Amendment Bill and the VicePresident of Committee of Council on Education Bill were read a third time, and passed. In reply to Mr. Milner Gibson, it was stated by Lord Palmerston that Government had not yet resolved on sending a minister to the United States in room of Mr. Crampton. Mr. Wilkinson proposed a resolution, limiting the duration of speeches in the House to half-an-hour, except on the occasion of introducing a measure, in which case the speech not to exceed one hour; but the motion was negatived. (COMMONS.) The Grand Juries' (Ireland) Bills and the July Poor Law (Ireland) Bill were withdrawn. A long debate oc 23. curred on the Bishops of London and Durham Retirement Bill, after which the second reading was carried by 151 to 72. (LORDS.) The Parochial Schools (Scotland) Bill was reconJuly sidered, and the test clause, struck out by the Commons, was 24. reinstated. (COMMONS.) The Bishops of London and Durham Retirement Bill went through Committee. Mr. Roebuck moved a resolution for the expulsion of Mr. James Sadleir, the member of Tipperary, who had absconded from public justice. Mr. S. Wortley moved as an amendment that the papers in the case be printed, but withdrew this in favour of Lord Palmerston's amendment for the previous question. Lord Palmerston's amendment was adopted. July (LORDS.) Lord Wensleydale took the oaths and his seat. The Leases and Sales of Settled Estates Bill being recon25. sidered, Lord Redesdale moved that the amendment introduced by the Commons should be disallowed. On the division there appeared, Content, 17; Non-Content, 17; the effect of this vote being to reject the clause which prohibits Sir Thomas Wilson from building on the Hampstead Heath Estate. Earl St. Vincent moved a resolution respecting Lord Combermere's interference in the Dyce Sombre case. (COMMONS.) The Bishops of London and Durham Retirement Bill was read a third time, and passed. The Lord Advocate intimated that in consequence of the Lords having insisted on retaining the test clause, he would withdraw the Parochial Schools (Scotland) Bill. Mr. Disraeli moved for a return of bills withdrawn during the present Session, and proceeded to review the course of legislation during the Session. Lord Palmerston, Mr. M. Gibson, and other members having addressed the House, the motion was agreed to. (LORDS.) The Consolidated Fund Appropriation Bill was July read a third time, and passed. The Leases and Sales of Settled 26. Estates Bill being returned from the Commons with the clause reinserted which prohibits building on the Hampstead Heath estate, Lord Redesdale moved its rejection; but on a division, the clause was retained by 10 to 6. (COMMONS.) The Leases and Sales of Settled Estates Bill having been brought down from the Lords, with the clause struck out which had been inserted by the Commons, Lord Robert Grosvenor moved the reinsertion of the prohibitory clause, which was agreed to, and the bill, as thus amended, was sent up to the Peers. (COMMONS.) In reply to Viscount Raynham, the Chancellor July of the Exchequer said that Government were unable to deal 29. with the site of Smithfield Market without additional powers from Parliament. The House then proceeded to the House of Lords to hear Her Majesty's Speech. (LORDS.) The royal assent was given to the Appropriation Bill and many other measures, after which the Lord Chancellor read Her Majesty's Speech, proroguing Parliament. The passages of that speech relating to the war and its termination are of historical interest :— "When her Majesty met you in Parliament at the opening of the session, her Majesty was engaged, in co-operation with her allies, the Emperor of the French, the King of Sardinia, and the Sultan, in an arduous war, having for its object matters of high European importance; and her Majesty appealed to your loyalty and patriotism for the necessary means to carry on that war with the energy and vigour essential to success. "You answered nobly the appeal then made to you; and her Majesty was enabled to prepare for the operations of the expected campaign naval and military forces worthy of the power and reputation of this country. 66 Happily it became unnecessary to apply those forces to the purposes for which they had been destined. A treaty was concluded by which the objects for which the war had been undertaken were fully attained; and an honourable peace has saved Europe from the calamities of continued warfare. "Her Majesty trusts that the benefits resulting from that peace will be extensive and permanent; and that, while the friendships and alliances which were cemented by common exertions during the contest will gain strength by mutual interests in peace, those asperities which inherently belong to conflict will give place to the confidence and good-will with which a faithful execution of engagements will inspire those who have learnt to respect each other as antagonists. "Her Majesty commands us to thank you for your support in the hour of trial, and to express to you her fervent hope that the prosperity of her faithful people, which was not materially checked by the pressure of war, may continue, and be increased by the genial influence of peace." XII.-PRIVATE BILLS OF THE SESSION OF PARLIAMENT, 1856. [19 and 20 Victoriæ.] I. Numerical Abstract of the Petitions and Private Bills for the Session 1856: Petitions presented to the Commons and Bills brought from the Lords Bills read a first time. Bills read a second time Bills read a third time Bills which received the Royal Assent II. Comparative Classification of Bills for Ten Years: 210 202 197 172 161 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1852-3 1854 1854-5 1856 tion Totals Improvements in Internal Commu-190 nication Navigation, &c.. Private Regula-38 58 24 18 10 9 10 30 35 29 26 2225 120 105 103 87 12 17 16 15 7 35 41 335 197 129 147 179 193 272 270 229 161 The average number of Private Bills passed annually from 1847 to 1851 inclusive, was 197; the average number from 1852 to 1856 inclusive, has been 225. III. Abstract of Petitions and Private Bills of the Session 1856 : |