(COMMONS.) The Irish Ecclesiastical Residences, the Irish

July Churches and Chapels, and the United Churches of England and

2.

Ireland Bills were read a second time. Mr. J. Bell's Pharmacy Bill was read a second time on the understanding that it be on a future day committed pro formâ, and proceed no further this session. Mr. Mackenzie abandoned the Scotch Public Houses Bill. The Burgesses and Freemen's Parliamentary Franchise Bill passed Committee. The Irish Medical Charities Bill was further considered in Committee.

July

The Royal Assent was given by commission to a great number of Bills. After a warm altercation between the Lord Chancellor 3. and Lord Brougham on the subject of Chancery reform, the Patent Law Amendment Bill was read a third time and passed.

(COMMONS.) The Oath of Abjuration (Jews) Bill was read a third time and passed, after a declaration of unabated abhorrence of its principle from Sir R. H. Inglis, Mr. Newdegate, and Mr. Plumptre. The Court of Chancery and Judicial Committee Reform Bill passed Committee after much discussion. The Woods and Forests Bill was considered in Committee to the third clause inclusively. The School Sites Act Amendment Bill and the Loan Societies Bill passed Committee. The Highway Rates, the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction, and Burgesses and Freemen's Parliamentary Franchise Bills were read a third time and passed.

July

4.

(LORDS.) Lord Beaumont's motion for the suspension of the standing orders in relation to the Smithfield Market Removal Bilt led to a debate upon the question whether the Bill was a private or a public one. Lord Redesdale, the Duke of Richmond, the Marquess of Salisbury, and the Earl of Devon opposed the motion, which was supported by the Marquess of Lansdowne, Earl Granville, and Lord Brougham, and on a division carried by 76 against 22. Lord Beaumont's Purchase of Irish Lands Bill was opposed by the Lord Chancellor and thrown out.

(COMMONS.) A notice of motion by Sir B. Hall with reference to the receipt by certain bishops of more than the net income assigned to their sees led to a sharp debate of a somewhat irregular character. On the motion of Lord J. Russell the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill was read a third time. The noble lord then moved the omission of the words added to the second clause on the motion of Sir F. Thesiger in Committee on the Bill. After a discussion, shared in by Sir F. Thesiger, the Solicitor-General, and Mr. Roebuck, Lord J. Russell's motion was defeated by 208 against 129. A similar fate attended the noble lord's motion to omit the words investing a common informer with power to sue for the penalty under the Bill, which was negatived by 175 against 124. The question that the Bill do pass was then carried by 263 against 46. A long supplementary debate then took place on the motion of Mr. Grattan, who proposed that the Bill be entitled "A Bill to prevent the free exercise of the Roman Catholic Religion in the United Kingdom." The main point in the discussion was the responsibility of the minister in not abandoning a Bill into which stringent amendments had been introduced against his consent. On this point Mr. Reynolds, Mr. Lawless, Mr. Aglionby, Lord J. Russell, Mr. Gladstone, the Marquess of Granby, and Mr. S. Herbert spoke at considerable length. The amendment was then negatived and the Bill ordered to be sent up to the Lords. The Schoos Sites Act Amendment and the Irish Ecclesiastical Property Valuation Billl were read a third time and passed. The Assessed Taxes Composition, the Public Works, Fisheries, &c., the Irish Public Works, the Chief Justices, Salaries, and the Irish Land Clauses Consolidation Bills were committed. The Irish Summary Jurisdiction and the India Marriages Bills were read a second time.

July

7.

(LORDS.) The Earl of Ellenborough again brought forward the case of Jotee Persaud, and laboured to show that great injustice had been done to this gentleman by the authorities in India. Lord Broughton, in his reply, gave an assurance that inquiry should be made. The Smithfield Market Removal Bill was then read a second time on the motion of Lord Granville, and the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill a first time on the motion of the Marquess of Lansdowne.

(COMMONS.) The Inhabited House Duty Bill, and the Woods, Forests, &c., Bill passed Committee. In Committee of Supply on the civil services, civil contingencies, and commissariat estimates certain votes were agreed to. The Stock in Trade and the Turnpike Trusts Arrangements Bills were then read a second time, and the Loan Societies Bill a third time and passed.

(LORDS.) On the motion of Lord Cranworth the Expenses of July Prosecutions Bill was read a third time and passed. The Lodging 8. Houses Bill was read a second time.

(COMMONS.) Lord R. Grosvenor's motion for leave to re-introduce the Bill of last year to repeal the attorneys' and solicitors' annual certificate duty was opposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but on a division it was carried by 162 against 132. Mr. H. Berkeley then moved for leave to introduce a Bill to legalise voting by ballot at parliamentary elections. This motion was carried also against the Government by 87 to 50. Mr. Scully's motion to lighten the poor-rate in Ireland by employing the inmates of workhouses in reproductive labour gave rise to a long economical discussion, and was negatived by 64 to 42. The Mercantile Marine Act Amendment and the Militia Ballots Suspension Bills were read a second time, and the report of the Committee of Supply was brought up and agreed to.

July

9.

(COMMONS.) On the order for going into Committee on the Colonial Property Qualification Bill Mr. Tufnell moved an instruction to the Committee to provide for the abolition of any property qualification of members to serve in parliament. Mr. Ewart having seconded the motion, Lord J. Russell admitted the weight of Mr. Tufnell's arguments in support of his proposition, but could not vote for it in this shape; when however the whole subject was brought forward as a separate question he would give it his support. On this hint both amendment and Bill were withdrawn. The second reading of the Home-made Spirits in Bond Bill was opposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whose objections to the Bill were insuperable. The Bill, which was also opposed by Mr. Goulburn and supported by Lord Naas and Mr. Reynolds, was thrown out by 194 against 166. The Irish Ecclesiastical Residences, the Irish Churches and Chapels, and the United Church of England and Ireland Bills passed Committee. The Turnpike Acts Continuance Bill was read a second time.

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10.

(LORDS.) Lord Brougham withdrew for the present session his July Bills for consolidating the system of the Bankruptcy and County Courts and for conferring Equity Jurisdiction on the County Courts. The Earl of Ellenborough, in moving for certain returns (which were ordered), originated a debate on the subject of the Merchant Seamen's Fund.

(COMMONS.) The Merchant Seamen's Fund Bill and the Irish Land Clauses Consolidation Bill were considered in Committee; the Chief Justices' Salary Bill was read a third time and passed, as was also the Inhabited House Duty Bill, after a protest from Mr. D'Israeli, who described this as one of the most impolitic measures ever introduced. The Assessed Taxes Composition, the Public Works, Fisheries, &c., and the Irish Public Works Bills were also read a third time; the Irish Unlawful Oaths, the Irish Turnpike Roads, and the Irish Private Lunatic Asylums Bills a second time.

The remainder of the sitting was occupied with a debate on Mr. Hume's motion for the appointment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the proceedings of Sir James Brooke against the Dyaks of Borneo. The motion was rejected by 230 against 19.

(LORDS.) Lord Brougham having presented a petition from July Mr. Paxton praying that the Crystal Palace might be preserved as 11. a winter garden, advocated warmly the necessity of acceding to the petitioner's prayer. Lord Campbell saw no reason why the Crystal Palace should not be taken down. A long debate then arose on the policy of a revival of Convocation on the motion of Lord Redesdale for a copy of a petition on this subject presented to both houses of Convocation in February last. The speakers were the Archbishops of Canterbury and Dublin, Lord Lyttleton, the Duke of Argyll, the Bishops of London and Oxford, and the Marquess of Lansdowne. The motion was agreed to.

(COMMONS.) The Court of Chancery and Judicial Committee Bill was read a third time and passed. Some explanation took place between Mr. Milnes and Sir B. Hall in relation to the alleged spiritual misgovernment of his see by the Bishop of St. David's. On the order of the day for going into Committee of Supply, Mr. Mowat raised a discussion on the case of Mr. Whiston in connexion with the Rochester Cathedral Grammar School, and concluded by moving an address to the Crown to appoint a commission to inquire into the administration of the educational trusts confided to the cathedral establishments of the kingdom. Ultimately the motion was negatived, and the House having gone into Committee voted the annual estimate for the British Museum and several sums for educational and scientific purposes.

July 12.

(COMMONS.) The Militia Ballot Suspension, the Woods, Forests, &c., the Irish Civil Bills, the Irish Ecclesiastical Residences, the Irish Churches and Chapels, and the United Church of England and Ireland Bills were read a third time and passed. Mr. Bouverie brought in a Bill to amend the mode of Assessing Tithe Rent Charges.

(LORDS.) Lord Campbell presented a petition from the inhaJuly bitants of Knightsbridge praying for the removal of the Crystal 14. Palace. The Bishop of Oxford then, in moving for papers, entered into an elaborate defence of the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol touching his disposal of the Horfield Manor Estate. The Marquess of Lansdowne having moved the first reading of the Court of Chancery and Judicial Committee Bill, Lord Brougham (who, on account of failing health, would address their lordships now for the last time during the session) approved of the Bill as a step not a stride in the right direction; but insisted that the man who thought that any mere structural alteration of the Court of Chancery would satisfy the wants of the public was a mere dreamer, and would awake some day to a sad reality; a fear of granting moderate and safe reform might expose their lordships to the dangers of a violent revolution. After a few observations from the Lord Chancellor, the bill was read a first time.

(COMMONS.) On the order of the day for going into Committee of Supply, Mr. Reynolds moved a resolution condemnatory of any diminution of the annual grants to the Dublin Hospital. The motion led to a debate, and was negatived by 106 to 43. A discussion followed upon the Bishop of Gloucester's proceedings with reference to the Horfield Manor Estate between Mr. Hume, Mr. P. Miles, Mr. Horsman, Lord J. Manners, and Mr. Gladstone; and it was agreed that there should be a further discussion on the subject. The House then went into Committee of Supply upon the remaining civil service estimates, the discussion of which occupied the rest of the sitting. In the course of the discussion Lord Palmerston, reviewing the

operations of our cruisers on the coasts of Africa and Brazil, held out very encouraging prospects of the speedy extinction of the slave trade.

(LORDS.) The Earl of Derby (Lord Stanley), in moving for a July Select Committee on the affairs of the Cape of Good Hope,

15.

entered into a statement of the past and present condition of the Cape, dwelling particularly on the disappointment of the colonists in the constitution that had been sent out by the Colonial Secretary. Earl Grey (who insisted upon being heard before Lyndhurst) defended the colonial policy and opposed the motion, which involved a vote of censure on the Government and was brought forward merely to secure a party triumph. The Earl of Malmesbury supported the motion. The legal part of the question was then ably handled by Lords Cranworth, Lyndhurst, and the Lord Chancellor. The Duke of Argyll, Lord Wharncliffe, and the Duke of Newcastle opposed the motion, which, after a reply from the Earl of Derby, went to a division and was negatived by 74 against 68.

(COMMONS.) The Harwich Election Committee reported that Mr. R. W. Crawford had not been duly elected, and that the last election for the borough was void. The County Courts Further Extension Bill occupied the remainder of the morning sitting. In the evening sitting Lord Naas moved a resolution for a Committee on the present state of the Irish milling interest, of which he drew a gloomy picture, and attributed the losses sustained by the Irish millers to free trade, which virtually conferred protection on the French miller. A long debate followed on free trade and protection, after which the motion was negatived by 128 against 93.

(COMMONS.) On the motion of Mr. Bankes a petition from July certain electors of Harwich complaining of Government in16. terference at the last election was referred to a Select Committee. The Charitable Institutions Notices Bill and the Arrest of Absconding Debtors Bill passed Committee. The Charitable Purchase Deeds Bill was withdrawn and the Coroners Bill rejected. Several Clauses of the Law of Evidence Amendment Bill were agreed to after much discussion in Committee. The order for the Committee on Mr. Bell's Pharmacy Bill was discharged and the Bill withdrawn. The Local Acts Inquiries Bill was read a second time; the Stock in Trade Bill a third time and passed. The Copyhold and Inclosures Commission, the Victoria Park, the County Courts Further Extension, and the Tithe Rent Charge Assessment Bills were successively considered in Committee.

July

B

17.

(LORDS.) The Lord Chancellor moved the second reading of the Oath of Abjuration (Jews) Bill, which was opposed by Earls Nelson, Shaftesbury, and Winchelsea, and by Lord Abinger and the Earl of Galloway. The motion was supported by Lord Wodehouse, the Archbishop of Dublin (who would remove all restrictions and allow the electors to choose whom they would, Jew or Gentile, Hindoo or Mahometan), the Earls of Carlisle and Wicklow, the Duke of Argyll, and the Bishop of Norwich. After a brief reply from the Lord Chancellor the Bill was thrown out by 144 against 108.

(COMMONS.) Mr. Bankes's motion that it be an instruction to the General Committee of Elections to select a chairman and six other members to inquire into the allegations of the petition relative to the last election for the borough of Harwich was carried after a discussion by 82 to 80. On the order of the day for going into Committee of Supply, Mr. P. Miles brought before the House the subject of Horfield Manor, the conduct of the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol with reference to the lease of that estate, and the charges alleged by Mr. Horsman against the bishop in connexion with that transaction. A long discussion followed, in which Mr. Horsman, Mr. Gladstone, and Sir James Graham, were the principal speakers. The House then

went into Committee on the civil service estimates, and after resuming forwarded several Bills a stage.

July (LORDS.) The Inhabited House Duty Bill was read a second time, and some other Bills were forwarded a stage.

18.

(COMMONS.) Mr. Alderman Salomons appeared at the table to take the oaths as member for Greenwich, was sworn on the Old Testament, declined to repeat the words "on the true faith of a Christian" in the oath of abjuration, was thereupon ordered by the Speaker to withdraw, but amidst a scene of the greatest excitement took his seat upon one of the benches to the right of the chair. The Speaker insisting that the honourable member must withdraw, Mr. Salomons amidst loud opposition cheers took his seat on a bench behind the bar. In reply to Sir B. Hall, who asked whether the Government would instruct the Attorney-General to prosecute Mr. Salomons for taking his seat, the Chancellor of the Exchequer recommended that no further proceedings should be taken in this matter till the 21st inst., when Lord J. Russell would be present. This suggestion, after some irregular discussion, was concurred in. The House then went into Committee of Supply on the remaining civil services and naval and militia estimates.

(COMMONS.) On the order for bringing up of the report of the July Committee of Supply Sir B. Hall raised a rather interesting debate 19. upon an item in the civil contingencies of 2,8441. for the funeral of the late Queen Dowager, which included a fee of 2207. to the Dean and Chapter of Windsor for interment in the vault. The report being brought up, Mr. W. Williams moved the disallowance of this 2207., but the motion was negatived by 37 to 29. The other orders of the day being disposed of, Lord Seymour brought in a Bili to confirm certain provisional orders of the General Board of Health.

21.

July (LORDS.) The second reading of the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill was moved by the Marquess of Lansdowne, who said that the Bill was a protection against papal encroachment and a protest against insult, while it did not infringe upon the spiritual action of the Catholic Church. The Earl of Aberdeen, who criticised the Bill at great length, contended that a hierarchy was an essential element in the organization of the Catholic Church, and would occasion no injury to the Establishment; the noble Earl concluded by maintaining that the measure was inefficient and persecuting, and moved the second reading this day six months. Lord Beaumont supported the second reading, as did also the Duke of Wellington, the Earl of Malmesbury, Lord Berners, the Duke of Argyll, Lord Airlie, and the Bishop of St. David's. The debate was adjourned.

(COMMONS.) The debate on the admissibility of Mr. Salomons to take his seat for Greenwich being resumed, Lord J. Russell, in reply to Sir B. Hall, stated that Government did not at present intend to institute legal proceedings against the honourable member for Greenwich. Mr. Salomons,

who had previously taken his seat beneath the Speaker's gallery, passed the bar and sat down on the front bench below the gangway on the ministerial side between Sir B. Hall and Mr. Anstey. The excitement produced by this proceeding having somewhat subsided, the Speaker ordered" the intrud ing member to withdraw," and Mr. Salomons not complying with the inunction, the Speaker appealed to the House to enforce his order, when Lord J. Russell moved that the honourable member withdraw from the House. A scene of immense confusion followed, after which Mr. B. Osborne moved that Mr. Salomons having taken the oaths most binding on his conscience is entitled to take his seat. This motion, upon which Mr. Salomons voted, was rejected by 229 against 81. A second division for adjournment, on which Mr. Salomons spoke, was rejected by 237 against 75. Finally, the main question, that the honourable member be ordered to withdraw, was