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secretary of the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt . Mr . Wilson replied that , by a rule of the service , -when an officer retires on' superannuation , and is afterwards able to return to an office for which he receives an inferior salary , that salary increased to the amount of the former one from the superannuation allowance . Such had been the case with . Sir Alexander Spearman . —Considerable discussion ensued on several instances of alleged profligate expenditure in granting superannuation pensions to persons who ought still to be working ; and Captain Soobell said there were three hundred names on the superannuated list before thern , and many of them were as young as thirty-two years of age , but no reason was given why they were not employed otherwise in the p ablic service . —The vote was agreed to , as were several others , and the House resumed .
member for Warwick . —( Laughter . )—Mr . Pitt had , with great judgment , said he would educate the " Roman Catholic priesthood in Ireland under English , fostering , and with . English money . The result of an . adherence to that principle -was , that in 1848 the priesthood were on the side of the Government , and thus clearly showed that the teaching at M&ynooth is not opposed to the institutions of this country The priesthood are taught under the dominion , of the English people , and they are subject to inquiry ;
but , if the present grant were taken away , Parliament would deprive itself of any rig ht of interference , and they might teach , what they pleased . —Similar views were expressed l > y Lord Palmlksston , v ? ho felt great regret that the question should again have been brought forward , especially in the bitter spirit whieb had been displayed by the mover of the motion . ^ He hoped that the House would agree with him in thinking it high time to put an . end to irritating polemical discussions .
Mr . Sbooner having replied , the House divided , when there appeared—For Mr . Black ' s amendment . . 21 Against it . ... • 253 Majority against . . . 232 For Mr . Spooler ' s motion . . . 159 Against it .. - 133 Majority in favour . . 26 . This result was hailed with a loud cheer . The Speaker then left the chair , and Mr . Newdegate acted as Chairman of the Committee , in the absence of Mr . Fitzbot . —The question being put
that the Chairman be requested to ask leave to bring in a bill to carry out the motion , Mr . HuTCHESTS moved , as an amendment , that the Chairman reporf progress and ask leave to sit again .- —Lord Palmee < ston advised Mr . Spooner to accept the amendment as it was the only progress he was likely to- make . — Mr . Spooner declined ; and , on a divisidn , the amendment was lost by 154 to 132 . —Another amendment to report progress was moved by Mr . D . O'Connell ; biat , at the suggestion of Lord Palmerst 6 n , It was withdrawn , i » order that a division might be taken on the main question , which was afterwards carried by 159 to 143 .
The House then resumed , and leave was given to bring in the bill . The © ther business having been disposed of , the House adjourned .
Wednesday , April 16 th .. JUSTICES OF PEACE QUALIFICATION BILL . The House of Commons went into committee on this bill ; but not : many clauses were got through , when the Chairman was ordered to report progress .
MINISTERS MONET ( IRELAND ) BILL . The second reading of this bill was moved by Mr . Faoan ; on which Mr : Hamilton moved , as an amendment , that it "be read a second time that day six months . The object of the bill he described aB being to exempt the owners of houses in certain towns in Ireland from charges which are made for the benefit of the Protestant Church . —Mr . Meaoher denounced the tax as a remnant of the old penal code , and he considered that , even when viewed simply as an impost , it was unfairly levied . —The bill was supported by Mr . Black , Mr . Miall , Mr . Whiteside , Mr . Maouirj ! , and Mr . Serjeant O'Brien ; and opposed by Lord Bernard , Mr . Napier , and Lord John Kussele / ,
the last of whom said he thought Government should either exhaust the means of the law to enforce the tax , and , if the machinery was defective , bring in some amending measure , or should abolish the tax altogether . For himself , however , he could not support the bill then before the House . —On the part of the Government , Mr . Horsman said that the difficulties in enforoing the tax had been immensely increased by the act of 1854 , miscalled a settlement of the question , but in reality a series of blunders , arising from an attempt to make a small compromise of a
great question . He thought , however , it would bo premature to abolish the tax . Parliament was bound to see how fax the present law could bo enforced j but , failing that , Government would introduce some measure that would do justice to all parties . —Mr . Fitzgerald ( the new Attorney-General for Ireland , who had just before taken the oaths and his seat on hie re-elootion ) , confessed that he had opposed the act of 1854 beoauso ho had thought it would not work ; Being the law , however , it should be enforced if possible .
Mr . Faqan replied , observing that Mr . Hamilton , who moved the amendment , said he would support the bill if ho thought the tax was anything bat a eham grievance . Did not the how . gentleman think ib was a grievance , an inj \ istice , to tax the Roman Catholics for the support of another religion ? Was ifc not an injustice to levy the tax on a few towns , while those in the north of Ireland , inhabited by Protestants , arc oxompt ? If ministers ' money was not a grievance , oliuroh-rates were not a grievance nor an injustice . The second reading waa nogatived by 201 to 121 , and the bill was lost .
system- -wished the House to remember that it is easy to abolish at once the evil practices of a vast conquered territory like India , and by Lord Congleton ( who insisted that nothing would satisfy the Indian mind but the separation of the police and the revenue department ) , the resolutions , as amended , were agreed to .
THE AMERICAN QUESTION . In the House of Commons , in reply to Mr . Baiixie , Lord Palmerston said the answer to be made to the last communication received from the United States ' Government required to be very carefully prepared , that tie absence of Lord Clarendon had caused an unavoidable delay , but that the answer was in preparation , and in-the course of this week would be communicated to Mr . Dallas ; so tliafe he might say
that in the early part of next week the Government ¦ would be in a condition to submit to the House the ¦ whole of the correspondence . —Mr . Batllie said he should postpone his motion ( which , stood for that evening ) condemnatory of the course taken by the Ministers of the crown in the employment of agents to enlist the citizens of foreign powers into the service of her Majesty , in defiance of the laws of those countries . —Sir Du Laot Evans likewise postponed his amendment to thai motion .
SUPPI / Y . The House then went into Committee of Supply . Some of the votes , as tisual , excited considerable discussion . On the vote of £ 24 , 728 , for the colonial establishments , being proposed , Mr . Williams insisted upon the justice of making the colonies defray the salaries of their governors . He moved that the amount of the vote should be reduced by the amount of the incomes designed for the governors of West Australia and Jamaica .- —In connexion with the same vote , Sir John Fakington complained that there was an omission in the estimates of the salary of the Bishop of New Zealand . He had conceived that an income of £ 600 a-year had been guaranteed to him ; but it had disappeared for the last two or three years . From some observations by Lord John Rttssele ,, it
would seem that Sir John Pakingto . n > when Colonial Secretary , had promised that the vote should not again appear on the estimates , on tlie calculation , of that ihe colonial legislattare would provide the requisite sum ; but this was denied "by Sir John , "who conceived that the country is bound in honour to pay the Bishop ' s salary . —Strangers were then ordered to withdraw j and some amusement "was caused by the difficulty which Mr . Williams appeared to experience in finding a second teller . Mr . Habfield ultimately volunteered his services , and the division was then taken , when there appeared—For Mr . Williams ' s amendment , 3 : Against ; ifc , Q eo 200 . xnis result was greeted with loud laughtei \ Mr . Williams's three supporters were Messrs . Tite , Pellatt , and ScoBBLL . —The original vots was then agreed to .
On the vote of £ 11 , 050 salaries asid contingent expenses of the mixed commissions for suppression of the slave trade , Mr . Biggs protested against the inconsistency of our attempting to put down slavery on the coast of Africa , and allowing it in Turkey . That was a species of one-sided , hypocritical philanthropy . At present , there are 50 , 000 slaves in Turkey , most of them Christians . They are brought from Tunis , Kurdistan , and other places , and sold in the market of Constantinople . ( Hear , hear ) From a careful perusal of the reports of all travellers , he denied that the boasted civilisation of the Turks is more than
skin-deep , whatever might be said by lying French journals . Let the Greeks and the Christians be encouraged in tlxat country , and they would plant another London on the Bosphorus . At present , it is blasted by a people who are scarcely fit to exist , either in Europe or elsewhere . ( Sear , hear . )—The vote -was agreed to . * Tho vote of £ 167 , 498 for the consular service also excited some debate , Mr . Wise maintaining the necessity of reforming that branch of the public service , which , as at present organised , is obnoxious to heavy charges on account of its inefficiency and extravagance .. —Lord Palme rston , iu the oourae of some explanations , abated that the Foreign Secretary purposed , in the course of next session , to move for the appointment of a select committee to investigate the wholo subjoct of tho consular service .
Mr . Bowriun made some remarks on the vote of £ 25 , 000 fox * defraying tho extraordinary disbursements of th « embassies and missions abroad . Ho complained that tho attache ' s at present employed are not sufficientl y well educated , and are often entirely ignorant of international law ; aud he conceived that tho pay in nob high enough to obtain effective servants . — -The voto , however , waa agreed to ; On the motion that £ 146 , 587 bo grauted as superannuation and compensation to persona formerly employed in the publio service , Mr . Williams remarked _ that some of tho items in the voto woro astounding . One man had been now sixty-five years in reoeipt of hia superannuation allowance . Another poraon waa , in 1817 , discharged at a salary of £ 700 a-year , for bodily infirmity . Ho wished to know how it Wfta that Sir Alexander Spearman had a superannuation allowance , in addition to his salary as
bankers' compositions Bixr * On the order for the second reading of this bill , Mr . Glyn inquired what were the intentions of the Government as to the Bank Act of 1844 . —The Chance llob op the Exchequer replied that , if it was the general wish of the House that a Committee should be appointed to inquire into the operation of the Bank Act , no objection-would be offered on the part of the Government ; but he was not aware that at this period of the session any great progress could be made in the inquiry . —The bill was read a second time . The Public Works Bill , and the Public Works ( Ireland ) Bill , were read a third time , and , with so 3 n . e amendments , passed .
Tuesday , April 152 & . The House of Lobds met for about half-an-hour , but did not transact any business of importance They then adjourned till Thursday .
THE FOEEIGN LEGION . In the House os Commons , in answer to Colonel Dunne , Mr . Frederick Peel said the foreign levies would be disbanded as early as circumstances would allow > and that whatever was promised would be strictly fulfilled . The Foreign Legions had no claim to pensions ; but th-e officers were entitled to gratuities equivalent to three months' pay , and privates to twelve months ' pay , at the time of disbanding . They were also entitled to a free passage to their own homes , or to the British 2 S " orta American colonies , or to the Cape . '
MAYNOOTBt . After the presentation of several petitions , Mr . Spooner rose to make his annual motion— " That this House do resolve itself into a committee for the purpose of considering the acts for the endowment of the College of Maynpotto , with a view * o tie withdrawal of any endowment . out of the Consolidated Fund , due regard being had to vested rights or interests . " He commenced his remarks by saying that he had so frequently addressed the House on this subject , that he
felt his inability to introduce any novelty into his present speech ; and , indeed , if the House were willing to go at once to a division , he would save their time by ^ immediately entering the lobby . This offer being responded to by a derisive cheer , Mr . Spooner recapitulated the arguments whieh he had been in the habit of advanoing against the grant , and concluded his reaiarks by exhorting members to act in accordance with their oath , and thus support our Protestant throne , our Protestant Church , and our Protestant institutions .
Mr . Black moved , as an amendment , the addition of the following words : —" And , at the same time , to take into consideration the other Parliamentary grants made to religious denominations in Ireland . " According to the latest statistics , the population of Ireland consists of — members of the Established Church , IS per cent . ; Roman Catholics , 77 per cent . ; other sects , 10 per cent . The minority , represented by the Established Church , enjoy £ 700 , 000 of annual revenue ; the Roman Catholics have the Maynooth grant , and the other sects have £ 38 , 000 . —The original motion was supported by Lord Bernard and Mr . Newdeqate , and opposed by Mr . MoOann , Lord
Cabtlbhossib , Mr . Fagan , Mr . Wilkinson , Mr . Kennedy , Mr . De Vebis ( who prophesied that the success of the motion would give vise to an agitation in Ireland , the consequences of whioh would be disastrous ) , Mr . Diujmmond ( who , though having no wish to say n . word in behalf of Maynooth , thought that , if that institution were pulled down , there would bo a danger of tho Established Church speedily experiencing tho same fate ) , Mr . MKAQHun , Mr . Dhasy , Mr . Roebuck , Mr . Kirk ( who assured Mr . Spooner that by tho oourao ho waa pursuing he was playing into the hands of the greatest enemies of the Established Church ) , and Lord Palmbrstoct .
Mr . Roebuck called attention to tho fact of Mr . Pitt and Sir Robert Peel having been advocates of this vote , whioh waa oxiginally proposod by a purely Protestant nBsembly in Ireland . But Mr . Spooner told the House that they woro to put aeido tho prudence of Mr . Pitt , and tho expedience of Sir Robert Peel , and , following hia opinions , to abolish Maynooth . Now , he ( Mr . Roebuck ) lxad groat faith in Mr . Pitt , and some faith in Sir Robert Pool , but ho had no iaith whatever in the hon . gentleman tho
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Anaii ' lft 1856 . ] THE BE APE It . 368
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Leader (1850-1860), April 19, 1856, page 363, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2137/page/3/
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