IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

Lyttelton Times, Volume X, Issue 620, 16 October 1858, Page 4

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

! Housk of Lords.—Ti|jjusday, July 1. tub oaths bill. The Earl of Derby, after thanking their lordships for the courtesy displayed towards himself in postponing various measures during his late anvohmtary absence, referred to the two bills which now stood for second reading; and whereof the chief object was to secure the admission of. Jews into Parliament. Of the competing measures, he expressed his preference for that introduced by Lord Lucan, and, while still re r taining his personal objections to the removal of •the barrier representing the essentially Christian •character of the Legislature declared his readiness to accept the compromise comprised in that ThII. •Lord Lyndhurst, after explaining the provisions of .his own measure, the Oaths Substitution ißill, and showing cause for considering it pre- ; iferabje to that proposed by Lord Lucan, stated that his only wish was to attain the object in "view; and as this could be secured just as well [ under Lord Lucan's Bill, which it seemed had now the powerful support of the Prime Minister, - lie was perfectly willing to waive his own proposition, rather than risk the snceess of their - common purpose. Lord Lucan then brought forward liis bill, by • which either House is empowered to dispense with the formula on the true faith of a Christian, if any member, on coiniog to the table to be sworn, should declare that the words were not binding on his conscience. The Earl of Clancarty, recapitulating the ; customary arguments against unchristianising ! the Legislature, moved that the bill should be read a. second time that day six months. Lord Berners seconded the ameadmeat. Earl Granville confessed that the present measure did not, in his opinion, offer the best - .mode of settling the. question; but he, nevertheless, consented to accept it, as solving a controversy which had continued for many years. The Duke of Cleveland supported the bill, which was opposed by the Duke of Rutland and Lord Redesdale. Lord Brougham having, spoken in defence of the measure, - The Bishop of Oxford contended that no new circumstance had occurred which should induce the House to reverse the decision against admitting the Jews to the Legislature which had ' recently been affirmed by a large majority of .their Lordships. Lord Dungannon followed also in opposition -to .the Bill After a few words against the measure from the Earl of Cardigan, Their Lordships divided on the motion for the second reading of the billContents present... ....'79 ... Proxies... 64 T0ta1......143 Non-contents present 64 ... Proxies... 33 Total 97 - r ..,,■' Majority... 46 The bill was then read a second time, and their Lordships adjourned. THE BOOK OF COM3IOK PRATES. Earl Stanhope has been successful in an attempt to effect aslight revision ir^ the Common Prayer Book of the Church of England. He moved an address to the Queen, praying her to expunge the services for the the 30th of January, the 29th of May, the 20th of June, and sth of November. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, and several others, generally supported tlie motion; but it was thought desirable to limit the proposition. The motion thus curtailed was allowed to pass, so there is a chance that the ceremonials of lamentation for the beheading of Charles L 4 of rejoicing for the restoration of his graceless son; and the solemn farce of Guy Fawkes' day will not be much longer enacted.

The Royal assent was given to several bills, among which was the Property Qualification

_ The ' Times' compliments Lord Derby for his^ conduct on the Oaths Bill, and says— " Exactly as the Duke would have done iv the same state of affairs, Lord Derby has postponed his own great aversion to the measure passed in the Lords, and all the measures that prompted him to an obstinate resistance. He has sat down and deliberately estimated the public interest in the question. The evil of •standing out for ever is obvious. The concession declared, the words given, and the transaction agreed on, it is remarkable how quickly it was completed, and how little was said against it at this last closing scene of this very long controversy."' The India Bill occupied the Commons the whole of yesterday, both al the morning and the evening sittings. Impatient to get through it, the Chancellor of the Exchequer proposed that the House should sit to day ; and, if the clauses were not then got through, to proceed with them on Monday at noon. The sensible effect of the Thames water caused a simultaneous objection to this proposal; and Mr. Disraeli, who now never persists in anything unpleasant, gave way : therefore, 'the House does not meet until. 4 o'clock an Monday. Several attempt* ■at amend meats were made in committee on the Indian Bill, but without any flattering result; for, as there ;is a total absence of party tactics, members vote as if at random, but always giving Lord Stanley a majority.— f Liverpool Daily P»>st, '.July 3.

ihe composition of .the first Indian Council excites much speculation, and lists are'in circulation containing the names of eight members to be nominated' by Government, and seven to be elected by the Court of Directors. Nothing, however, is as yet known with certainty, except that amongst the Government appointments certain names may be accepted as a matter of course. According to some reports, the following are the elglsfr gentlemen to be nominated by the Crown: —Major-Geaeral Sir Robert John Hussey Vivian, X.C.8., Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Unary Creswick llawlinson, M.P, the Right

Hon. Sir Lawrence Peel, Mr. John Pollard Willoughby, M.P., Mr. Henry Baillie, M.P., Mr. John Stuart Mill, Sir James Melvill, and Mr. Arthur Mills, M.P. We apprehend that there are some names in this list which, for different

reasons, will not be found in the Council.' It is extremely unlikely, for instance, that Sir Law-

rence Peel or Sir James Melvill would be dis-

posed to serve on the Council; and the appointment of Colonel Rawlinson may be doubted on other grounds. The same report assigns the following, with more probability, as the names of the seven members to be elected by the Court of Directors.:—Mr. Ross, D. Mangles, M.P., W. H. Sykes, M.P., Sir Frederick Currie, Captain Eastwick, Captain Shepherd, Mr. M. T. Smith, M.P. and Mr. H. T. Priusep.

The day of the prorogation of Parliament is not yet fixed. We mentioned in our last that the 26th of the present month would probably terminate the labours of the session. Prom existing appearances they are not unlikely to continue for another week or ten days. The Indian Bill has yet to be sent to the House of Lords, where it will be discussed at length; and should any alterations be carried by that assembly, it must be sent back again to the Commons. Without venturing to speculate upon the time which may thus be possibly consumed, we may indicate other measures which may be disposed of before the prorogation can take place. There is a considerable amount of business to be got over in connection with Supply before the "Appropriation Bill" can be introduced; and it is pretty well known that Government will not recommend a prorogation without submitting, or at all events approving of, some scheme for the purification of the Thames. Taking these matters into consideration, and looking at the minor measures before the House* I and which must be disposed of, it is not unreasonable to suppose that the day of prorogation will be advanced to the first or second week of August. The report and resolutions of a Sub-com-mittee of the Indian Mutiny relief Fund, acknowledging the munificent contributions of the Colony" of Victoria, have been published. Our readers are aware that the Legislature ot the colony granted the sum of XSo.OTO in aid of the fund, and that, in addition to this, a large amount was raised by private donations.

It is stated that Sir Stephen Lushington is to succeed the late Sir John Dodson in the Arches 1 Court. The sums of .£1,682,653 was the amount repaid by the Indian Company in the year 1857-58 to her Majesty's Paymaster-General. The Hon. W. G. P. Eliot, first paid attache at Constantinople, is appointed in the same capacity at St. Petersburg; and Mr. Bulwer Lytton, first paid attache at St. Petersburg, takes Mr. Eliot's place. A bill of Sir E, Bethell,the late AttorneyGeneral, and Mr. Acton Ayrton, enacts that no British subject dying abroad shall be deemed to have acquired a domicile unless residing therein for three years preceding the death, and the same with respect to foreigners resident in England. The act will, of course, depend on a convention between her Majesty and any foreign States. When subjects of foreign States shall die in the United Kingdom, and there shall be no persons to administer to their estates, the consuls of such foreign States may administer. The Earl of Malmesbury has brought in a bill to legalise all marriages hitherto solemnised in the Chapel of the Russian Embassy at Moscow, either by its chaplain or by any minister in holy orders, according to the rites of our Church; all marriages solemnised at Ningpo by or before Mr. C. A. Sinclair or Mr. T. T. Meadows; and all marriages solemnised in the island of Tahiti by or before Mr. C. C. Miller. There are some doubts respecting the validity of such marriages, and. to remove these is the object of the bill before the House of Lords.

The question as to the nature of the security held by the public creditors of India has been adjusted beyond possibility of further caviL A clause has been adopted that all debts and liabilities in connection with that country now and henceforth are to be chargeable, as has hitherto been the case, on its revenues aiJSe. An effort was made to have the point left open by the omission of the word " alone," so that, in the event of the Indian revenue proving at any time inadequate, claimants might come upon the Imperial Exchequer. As this would have been tantamount to making a present out of the public purse to India Stock bond and shareholders equal to about 50 per cent, on the existing value of their property, of about £1 10,000,000 sterling; since Indian 5 per cent, railway shares, under the guarantee of the home government, would be worth, perhaps, 150, instead of 100, the public will not be surprised that it was negatived without a division. As far as the contract between the Indian government and its creditors is concerned, every pretext for misconception is now happily removed. Persons must not expect to buy 5 per Cent. Stock at the price of the 3 per Cent. Consols, and to have the power at any time of insisting that they fully understood the security for the one to be precisely the same as that for the other. The House of Commons have put the covenant into plain words, and, if respect is to be cultivated among Englishmen for engagements of any kind, there must be no future fancy that it is intended to be departed from.— Times.

Four of the directors of the Royal British Bank, who were convicted of conspiracy after a trial of 15 days' duration, before Lord Chief Justice Campbell, are now in the full enjoyment of their liberty. The seventh director, Mr. Stapleton, was discharged upon payment of a nominal fine. The petitions of Mr. Owen and Mr. Kennedy have not hitherto been laid before the public. The former made an unsuccessful appeal to the home office for a mitigation of his sentence, and a second application was made contemporaneously with that on behalf of Mr. Kennedy. Both proved successful, although the pardon in Owen's case was unconditional, and in that of Kennedy it was limited to a few days' further imprisonment. No less than fifteen memorials in Mr. Kennedy's favour were presented to the Home Secretary, signed by the present Lord Mayor and above twenty aldermen, besides a great number of common coun^ilmen, and by almost every inhabitant of the ward of Clieap, which Mr. Kennedy had presided over.

perhaps, however, the most important influence was the zealous support he obtained from the Board of East India Directors, with whom he had been for a lengthened period associated. The costs of the defence are about £5,000, and with the £5,000 which Mr. Kennedy paid as a contributory under the winding-up of the bank to the official manager, makes together £10,000. Mr. Kennedy's intention is to withdraw altogether from public life, and with that view he has left London for Herefordshire. The next and more recent case is that of Mr. Humphrey Brown, whose friends have for some weeks past been most diligently exerting themselves in his favor. On the Ist of July Mr. Brown received the gratifying intelligence that his application had been favourably received, and that the necessary papers were in course of preparation to receive the royal assent, and at a late hour on the following day this welcome news was confirmed by the arrival of a special messenger from the Home Oflice at the Queen's Prison, bearing the royal unconditional pardon. On the same day a pardon arrived for Mr. Auchmuty Glover, ex M.P. for Beverly, the last Victim of the Property Qualification, now abolished.

In Paris and Constantinople there are rumours of a proposed visit of the Sultan to the Emperor Napoleon.