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and he thought the House would see the proprie ty of giving equal rights and protection to all , and would ¦ j [ ot determine to exalt one clas 3 over another . If it W contended that the tests were inoperative , then why , he asked , allow them to remain on the statutebook ? But he reminded the House that a bigoted and persecuting attempt was made by the means of those tests to oust Sir D . Brewster , on his belonging to the Free Church ; from the office of Principal to the United rnllese of St . Saviour and St . Leonard , in the Univer-«; tv of St . Andrew . "
Mr . Lockhart rnpved that the bill he read that daysix months , on the ground that it would destroy Protestantism in the universities of Scotland . A short discussion ensued . Sir George Grey would support the bill , but he thought it would be unwise to press it to a division , as the real sense of the House would not be expressed . Several members united with Sir George in recommending the withdrawal of the motion , but Mr . Cowan was firm . The House divided , and there
were—For the second reading , 65 ; against it , 66 . Majority against , 1 . Mr . M'Cullagh then moved the second reading of the Encumbered Estates ( Ireland ) Bill , the object of which was to give power to the Encumbered Estates ' Commissioners to grant leases , under certain circumstances , to the occupying tenants of lands , which they might value and dispose of . He proposed that in future the tenant should have the option of obtaining a lease in perpetuity upon paying a fourth of the valuation , and the remaining three-fourths in the
ehape of rental . Mr . Fhench said the bill was " monstrous" ; Mr . Napier called it " absurd" ; Colonel Dunne pronounced it to be ' one of the most extraordinary schemes of legislation he had ever heard of" ; and the Attorney-General moved it be read a second time that day three months . Mr . E . B . Koche and Mr . Sharman Crawford alone supported it ; the former because it recognized the principle of " tenant right "; the latter because he thought its provisions would benefit Ireland . When the House divided
there were—For the second reading , 15 ; against , 94 . Majority against , 79 . The Medical Charities ( Ireland ) Bill was next advanced a stage in committee , and the House adjourned . The House of Commons met on Thursday , at twelve o ' clock , and forthwith proceeded with the St . Alban ' s Bribery Commission Bill . The opposition to the measure wa 3 quite insignificant , and seemed to be merely for the purpose of whaling away the tedium of a morning sitting . The heroes who defended St . Alban ' s against the projected invasion of a commission were , of course , Mr . Bankes and Mr . John Stuart . When the House divided there
were—For the third reading , 37 ; against it , 10 . Majority , 21 . The bill was then read a third time , and passed ; and the sitting was suspended until five o ' clock . After disposing of the Danish claims the House went into Committee of Supply . The first vote of £ 53 , 600 for the Privy Counciloffice and Board of Trade , including registrar of merchant seamen , transferred from the navy estimates , \ va 9 much canvassed , but ultimately agreed to without a division .
The next vote of £ 2000 for the salary of the Lord Privy Seal was agreed to under a protest from the Financial Reformers . The following sums were voted with scarcely any discussion : — £ 24 , 700 salaries and contingent expenses of the office of Paymaater-Gh : ncral , and £ 2700 for salaries and expenses of the State-paper Office . Qn the vote of £ 2230 for ^ the expenses of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners of England , Mr . W . Williams divided the committee—For the vote , 57 ; against it , 25 . Majority for , 32 .
Votes of £ 211 , 500 for the poor law commission of England , Scotland , and Ireland ; £ 47 , 000 ibrdefraying the expenditure of the Mint ; and £ 8062 for defraying tho charges of the Commissioners of Railways ; were agreed to after long desultory conversational debates . In speaking of the last , Mr . Laijouciikrio intimated that ho was preparing a bill to reunite- the railway commission to the iioard of Trade . The sum of £ 11 , 900 was voted for the care of public leeorcLs , and £ 14 , 583 to defray the expenses of inspectors of
mines and factories . Tho next vote proposed wan of £ 1700 for salaries of officers in Scotland and other charges formerly paid from the hereditary revenue . Mr . W . Williamb objected to the items of this vote , especially to the " Queen ' s Plate" imd " Culi-donnm Hunt . " A discussion of a personal nature nro . se upon an assertion made by Mr . W . Williams , that . ^ there wore no Quoen ' n plates given in - England . ' He Was quickly corrected by Mr . Moore—thero iiro twenty-five .
Kir itoiiRKT Inoi . ih thought that the dignity of tho Crown ought not to be compromised- by pe » Honn who were capable of little more thun putting twenty »> entences together . Mr . W . Williams would not condeHcond to notice wluit had ful 1 < n from the honourable baronet . ( Luiir / hfer . ) Tho observations of the honourable baronet were impertinent . ( Laughter and erica of " Order . " )
Sir R . Ingxis appealed to the House if anything he had said then , or on any former occasion , was of a character to justify in any degree the language applied to him by the honourable member for Lambeth . { Cheers ) . If the honourable member would rise and apologise he would sit down —( the honourable baronet here paused , but Mr . Williams did not move ); but if the honourable member would not rise , he would tell the honourable member that he was not the man to tell him ( Sir R . Inglis ) that he was using impertinent language . { Cheers . ) Mr . W . Williams withdrew , as a matter of course , whatever expression he had used which was inconsistent with the rules of the House . When the House divided there were—For Mr . Williams' amendment , 39 ; against it , 162 . Majority against , 123 .
£ 6464 was proposed for the salaries of the officers of the household of the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland . Mr . Hume moved that the vote be reduced by £ 1574 , the item for " Queen ' s plates . " Mr . W . Williams wished for an explanation of the item " two gentlemen at large , £ 150 a-year each . " { LaugJiter . ) Nobody condescended to give him any ; and on Mr . Hume pressing his amendment to a division there
were— For the amendment , 40 ; against it , 165 . Majority against , 125 . The committee then voted £ 6025 to defray the expenses of the office of Paymaster -of the Civil Services in Ireland , and £ 34 , 834 to defray the salaries and expenses of the Board of Public Works , Ireland ; after which the Chairman was ordered to report progress ; the House resumed , and subsequently adjourned at a quarter past one .
The House of Lords can be interesting sometimes even in the dullest of sessions . Lalla Jotee Persaud , the Indian contractor , of whose trial and acquittal we gave an account a fortnight ago , furnished Lord Ellenborough with a topic , and the House with a subject of interest and importance . Lord Ellexborough , in moving for the production of the charges against Jotee Persaud , entered fully into the particulars of his case . He described Jotee Persaud as a " gentleman" who had , since 1838 , rendered the most important services to the Indian Government as an army contractor . At the conclusion of the war in 1849 , which ended in the victory of
Guzerat , charges were preferred against Jotee Persaud , by one of his subordinate agents , imputing to him forgery , corruption , and embezzlement in his accounts . These " charges were referred to the military board , by whom they were referred to Major liamsay , military agent , who examined them , and reported that they were unworthy of credit . When this report came before tho military board they were divided in opinion , two agreeing with Major Runisay , and one dissenting from his opinion . By a process of reference fro in one authority to another , the matter came before the Licutenant-Governor of the North-Western Provinces ,
who directed that aprosecution should be instituted , which decision was ratified by the Governor-General . Proceedings were commenced accordingly at Agra , and Jotee Persaud admitted to bail . After that had taken place he went to Calcutta , and instituted a civil suit against the East India Company for £ 570 , 000 . Lord Ellenborough thought that an " illadvised" proceeding ; but he was equally of opinion that the rejection of the report of the military board was an error of judgment . Jotee Persaud had been admitted to bail ; Mr . Laing was his [ security . The bail was forfeited , and he ( Lord Ellenborough ) complained that Mr . Laing luid been treated with
great harshness , when the recognizances were estreated . Mr . Laing ' s presses were seized , and his newspaper thus prevented from appealing , while Ins other property remained untouched ; and the officers of the Government had gone so far as to cuter the zoiuuia of Jot . e Pc-rsuud , who had himself been bound to appear , and seized the jewels of his wife . Lord Ellenborough further said , that he did not state these occurrences us actual facts ; lie had inquired into their correctness as well ns he could , and he believed the charges which he had preferred were ko well authenticated as to justify him in bringing them under the notice of the House .
Lord ltitouoinoN ( lute Sir John Cam HobhouHc ) , in his reply , admitted the main facts in the above statement ; but he atrongly insisted on the iiinotenco of the Governor-General ( whose innocence , or guilt , by the bye , had not been called in question ) . He also pointed out that Jotee Per . sauil had commenced his civil suit iu consequence-of the criminal action brought against him by the Government ; not the reverse ( ns hud been . staled in the Him account , which readied England ) . Lard Urougliton read a minute
made by the Governor- ! Mineral on the -lib November , 1 ;( , )() , which showed cUiuly enough that he hud no choice but to institute the action , as the character not only of Jotee I ' eitmnd himself , but that of nevcral high functionaries was involved in tho issue . As to the" minor charged" brought forward by the noble carl , they were , he piti-umed , stated on the f . iith of Indian newspapers , and he ( Lord Hroughton ) had too little confidence in their repieHentations lo attach the nlightrst authority to them . Lord Ei . i . kniioiujuou denied tlmt ho had spoken on the authority of
newspaper accounts . He had been in communication with a person in this country who was most likely to be best informed upon the subject , and he had reason to believe every statement he had made to their lordships . The motion was then agreed to .
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The Land Clauses ( Ireland ) Consolidation Bill was read a second time , after some discussion , on Monday . The principle of the bill is to substitute arbitrators for juries in valuing of land for railways . Inland Bonding . —Mr . M . Gibson moved on Tuesday for a select committee to inquire into the working of the system of warehousing foreign goods in bond at Manchester , and to report as to the expediency of placing Manchester on an equal footing with with all bonded towns in the United Kingdom . He contended that the privilege which had been granted to that great commercial district had been proved by experience to be safe to the revenue as well as advantageous to the neighbourhood , and that it should not be withdrawn without inquiry . The Chancellor of the Exchequer resisted
the motion . The principle of the warehousing system was to confine the privilege to ports , properly so called , into which the goods were imported and whence they might be reexported ; but , in 1844 , the privilege was conceded to Manchester on condition that the expense of the arrangement , which was for the benefit of that town , should be borne by it . Subsequently the corporation sought to be relieved from the liability , and this being refused , they desired to put an end to the arrangement . The question , therefore , was , not the withdrawal of the privilege , but whether £ 2700 a year ( the expense of an arrangement for the exclusive benefit of Manchester ) should be thrown upon the public at large . The motion was variously supported , and a good case seemed to have been made out for inquiry ; but on a division there appeared— For the motion , 50 ; against it , G 5 . Majority against , 15 . Central Criminal Court . — Mr . Frewex then moved a resolution , " That it is desirable to extend the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court to the whole of each county on the home circuit . " Sir George Grey objected that it was an abstract resolution , and the motion was negatived without a division . Savings Banks . —Mr . H . Herbert moved a resolution , pledging the House to resolve itself , on a future day , into a committee , to consider of an address to her Majesty to extend to the depositors in the late Rochdale , Scarborough , Tralee , and Killarney Savings Banks the same relief as had been granted to those in the late Dublin Savings Bank . He urged the strong moral claims of trie depositors in the four banks , ana the equitable responsibility of the Government , who had fostered ther popular belief that the banks had Government security . About £ 100 , 000 would pay these sufferers , many of whom had been ruined , 10 s . in the pound . Mr . S . Crawford seconded the motion , and strongly advocated the case of these depositors . It was opposed by the Chancellor of the Exchkquer , who thought that a case had not been made out on behalf of these depositors sufficient to justify him in taking upon the Government any part of their losses , which had been occasioned by no fault of any public- servant . There was not the slightest reason for saying that the Government ought to make good those frauds . A strong feeling , however , prevailed that there was a givat deal of reason why tire losses should be made good . Mr . Hume , Mr . Slanuy , and Colonel Thompson , especially the last , declared most emphatically that , though there was no leya . 1 there vvas a strong moral obligation on the Government to make up the losses sustained by the depositors . The opposition vvas one solely of policy—it being deemed a dangerous thing for Government to take upon itself moral obligations to which there might be no end . [ Great reliance was , however , placed upon the intimation of the Chancellor of the Exchequer that he was preparing a bill which it was hoped would meet the difficulty . ] In spire of some attempts to compromise the debate by withdrawing the motion , Mr . llKKiiiiRTpressed it to a division , when there were—For the resolution , 5 G ; against it , G . 'J . Majority against , 7 . Mr . Urquhart rose to move a resolution respecting diplomatic salaries , amid cries of " Adjourn " and " iirothcrton . " Mr . JUiiotiikuton duly answered the call and moved the adjournment , Mr . HuMii objecting . Tin ; persevering Brotheiton , however , divided the lionise , and there were — For the adjournment , 01 ; against it , . '> 2 . Majority , 32 . Tho House accordingly adjourned at a quarter past twelve o ' clock . Dan inn Claims . —When the House reassembled , on the order of the day for going into Committee ol Supply , Mr . RoKumnc moved that nu uddichH be ptcstnicu to the Queen praying for the liquidation of the Danish Cluim . i . The story of thenu claims is well known . They wen : objected to by tho CiuNOiiM . fm of tho ExoifHUlimi , but Mr . ll . oi ' . imcii . would divide the Houne ; when there were—¦ For the motion , 4 !) ; against it , 1 ' 2 ( J . JVlaj "' - ity against , 77-The ( Jhnritnblo TruntH Bill was road a hocoimI timer in the llou . se of Lords on TluiiHday on the motion of the Lord ( Jjianoui-i . ou , with tho understanding that it woukl be mibmitted to u neloct committee . Tho object of the bill in to remedy tho mitnifold nl > unen which linve crept , into thenuiiuiiistmtioii of chuntieH ; and both J ' -ionl Huouuuam and Lord Stani . my expms . sod their plouHuro ut tho introduction of tho jneuhUic . .
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June 28 , 1851 . ] ®| j $ % t& 1 stx . 599
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), June 28, 1851, page 599, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1889/page/3/
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