the other £41. The levy had been made in the usual manner, without notice; in some cases, a distress had been made, but he was happy to say that none of the cattle belonging to the people had been sold. EDUCATION IN SCOTLAND. QUESTION. SIR WILLIAM DUNBAR asked the Lord Advocate, whether it is his intention to introduce, before Easter, a measure for improving the system of Education in Scotland, and for raising the salaries of the Parochial Schoolmasters, or for either purpose? SIR JOHN PAKINGTON said, it was not the intention of the Government to distribute medals to the naval officers for their services during the recent operations in China. The question with regard to prize-money he begged leave to postpone answering. SEIZURE OF THE "HERALD" BY THE PORTUGUESE.-QUESTION. MR. AYRTON asked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what steps have been taken by Her Majesty's Government respecting the Seizure of the Herald by the Portuguese authorities, and whether the Papers relating thereto will be laid upon the table of that House. The hon. Gentleman said that the vessel THE LORD ADVOCATE said, it was the intention of the Government to propose a measure to the House of the nature re-in question had been fitted out in 1857, ferred to in the hon. Baronet's Question; and he hoped to be able to lay such measure upon the table before Easter. LONDON BRIDGE-WORKS THERE. GENERAL CODRINGTON asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the Board of Admiralty has given its official sanction to the construction of the permanent works now being made beneath the southern arch of London Bridge; and, if so, at what date such sanction was given ? SIR JOHN PAKINGTON said the Board of Admiralty had given their sanction to the works referred to at the end of last March; since which time the hon. and gallant Officer was aware that he had the honour of receiving him, with others, as a deputation upon this question. He was bound to say, after having given due consideration to the representations made by that deputation, he had not thought it his duty to make any alteration in the decision originally come to. by certain British subjects at the Cape of Good Hope, for the purpose of opening up commercial relations with the inhabitants on the banks of King George's River; and, whilst engaged in trading operations, was seized by the Portuguese authorities. He hoped that the papers relating to the transaction would be placed upon the table of the House. MR. SEYMOUR FITZGERALD said, that the matter to which the hon. Gentleman referred was doubtless one of considerable importance, and had received the careful attention of Her Majesty's Government. Representations had been made to the Portuguese Government; but as the transaction had taken place at the other side of the globe, it was necessary to wait for communications in the most authentic form before Her Majesty's Government could demand that reparation which the Portuguese Government might be called upon to make. The case, as he said, was one of great importance, because British subjects had been grievously outraged and maltreated, and a loss had been inflicted on the master of £4,000; but a claim had been made on behalf of the Portuguese Government which it was impossible that Her Majesty's Government could recognize, that they had the right to stop all intercourse with the interior of the country SIR GEORGE PECHELL asked the in the neighbourhood of which the vessel First Lord of the Admiralty if it was intend- in question was seized, inasmuch as it was ed to award Medals and Prize-Money to the asserted that they had the control of the Officers and Seamen of Her Majesty's mouths of all the great navigable rivers Navy for those gallant and successful ope- in that quarter. The case was under the rations in China which have been the careful consideration of Her Majesty's Gomeans of bringing that War to a satisfac-vernment, and every effort would be made tory conclusion. to secure justice. THE OPERATIONS IN CHINA.-MEDALS QUESTION. SURVEYORS OF TAXES. QUESTION. GENERAL BUCKLEY asked the Secretary of the Treasury whether he has had any representation from Surveyors of Taxes respecting their salaries; and also respecting some fresh arrangements of the classi fication of their offices? SIR STAFFORD NORTHCOTE said, that no representation had reached the Treasury on the subject, and he was informed that none had been made to the Commissioners of Inland Revenue. He applied for permission to use a certain weighing-machine for weighing paper charged with duty. The machines were referred to the Commissioners of Inland Revenue, who thought that such machines were not safe for the purpose of the public revenue. It was described here as the weighing-machine used in the Department of Customs; and when an objection was raised against it that it was not secure, Messrs. Rawlins said it was used in the It was true it Department of Customs. had been used to a limited extent, but the had, however, received a pamphlet entitled Customs were by no means satisfied with "Statement of the case of the Surveyors it, as it was very liable to get out of order of Taxes respectfully submitted to the without the error being immediately deconsideration of Members of Parliament." tected. There was a further reason which The machines rendered it unadvisable. That was, however, not the usual way of submitting a representation of the kind, nor, he must add, was it a very convenient mode to be adopted by any class of public servants for addressing the Government. PAPER-WEIGHING-CASE OF MESSRS. RAWLINS.-QUESTION. MR. CRAUFURD asked the Secretary of the Treasury on what ground permission had been refused to Messrs. Rawlins to use, for weighing the paper charged with duty, the weighing-machine used in the Department of Customs; and what was meant by the Treasury Letter, stating that they must use a beam and scales, according to law? SIR STAFFORD NORTHCOTE said, he thought the form in which the question was put was likely to lead to confusion. The facts were these:-Messrs. Rawlins VOL. CLII. [THIRD SERIES.] used by the Commissioners of Customs were kept under the Government lock. With regard to the last part of the hon. Gentleman's question, the Treasury Letter, no doubt, required the use of a beam and scales. Exceptions might be taken to the word "beam," inasmuch as there was no such word in the Act of Parliament; nevertheless, it was quite clear that scales could not be used without a beam. THE ARMY.-THE BAND CHARGE. QUESTION. MR. LAURIE asked the Secretary of State for War when the Officers of the Army are to be relieved from the Band Charge, whether the Queen's Regiments. now employed in India would be also relieved from it; and whether any arrangement had been made to enlarge the School of Musketry at Hythe? GENERAL PEEL said, it would be in the recollection of the House that some time ago a question had been put to him on the subject of the bands. He had since made an application to the Treasury to grant relief to the officers in regard to this charge. A correspondence had subsequently taken place which formed a portion of the Minutes moved for by the hon. and gallant Member for Westminster (Sir De L. Evans). That correspondence would be shortly produced, and the hon. Member would then see what had been done in the matter. With regard to the last inquiry of the hon. Gentleman he could say that no person would be more anxious than himself to give every facility for the enlargement and efficiency of the School of Instruction in Musketry, and several plans were under the consideration of the Government in 2 C this matter. An additional expenditure of £20,000 had been made for establishing a school of gunnery at Shoeburyness. ARMY VETERINARY SURGEONS. QUESTION, MR. ALEXANDER BARING asked the Secretary of State for War whether it is his intention to make any alterations in the pay, rank, and retiring allowances of Veterinary Surgeons in the Army, and if so, what those alterations were? whether it was true that a French steam aviso, with two French cutters, had entered Spithead a few nights ago, and after the exchange of a few words of courtesy, these vessels had proceeded to Stokes Bay in the night, and had taken soundings there? Also whether he knew that these vessels had more than the usual complement of officers? SIR JOHN PAKINGTON said, that the hon. and gallant Admiral had given him notice of his question, which he would answer to this effect. He had received information from Portsmouth that two or three nights ago a French vessel, accompanied by two cutters, had anchored at Spithead; that they got under weigh during the night, but were at anchor again the following morning. Whether they took soundings in Stokes Bay, he confessed he was not in a position to state positively to the House. The fact, however, he believed to be this, that the officers of those GENERAL PEEL said, a warrant had been prepared, the effect of which would be to improve the rank, pay, and retiring allowances of the army veterinary surgeons. That document had to receive the sanction of the Commander in Chief with regard to the rank and position of these officers, and of the Treasury with respect to the pay. Until it had passed through that ordeal, he did not think it advisable to mention the precise nature of the altera-vessels had been for a long time doing duty tions to be made. MANNING THE NAVY.-QUESTION. SIR CHARLES NAPIER, on behalf of Sir Joseph Paxton, asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether there is any objection to the production of the letter addressed by the hon. Member for Tynemouth to Lord Hardwicke, stating his reasons for declining to sign the Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the best mode of Manning the Navy? MR. WALPOLE said, he had no objection to the publication of the letter referred to as soon as he had it before him. The facts of the case were these:-The Report was presented to him on Saturday last, and with the leave of Her Majesty, he had laid it before the House. The Appendix contained a letter of the hon. Member for Tynemouth (Mr. W. S. Lindsay) to Lord Hardwicke, and was not yet in his hands. The moment he received it he would lay it upon the table. He regretted that the Appendix and the Report were not published together. His reason for laying the Report before the House without the Appendix was because he thought it was the wish of the House to have that Report in their hands before the Naval Estimates came under their consideration. FRENCH VESSELS ON THE BRITISH COAST.-QUESTION. SIR CHARLES NAPIER wished to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty on the coast of England, being engaged in the operation of protecting the French fisheries. That was the ground on which they constantly visited our waters. He was not aware that there was anything more remarkable in their visit the other night than heretofore, nor had he any reason for supposing that there were more officers employed on the occasion alluded to than the ordinary complement. THE NAVY ESTIMATES. SIR JOHN PAKINGTON: As I stand in rather a peculiar position with regard to the duty which I proposed to discharge tomorrow, I hope that the House will allow me to explain the course which I intend to take. The noble Lord the Member for Tiverton (Viscount Palmerston), has given notice that he will to-morrow bring the subject of foreign policy under the consideration of the House. What the intentions of the noble Lord may be, of course, I cannot say; but it is obviously probable that when a question of foreign policy is raised in this House it may lead to a debate. The hon. Member for Berwick and the hon. Member for Montrose have also notices on the paper upon going into Committee of Supply. I fear, therefore, that I must remain in the same state of uncertainty that I have hitherto been as to whether I can or cannot to-morrow perform the difficult task of making my statement on the Navy Estimates. Under these circumstances it is fair to the House that I should explain that if I can begin my statement before eight o'clock I shall proceed to do so; but that I shall not begin after eight o'clock. In that case my statement on the Navy Estimates will be deferred till Monday, and my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer will be obliged to postpone the introduction of the Bill for amending the representation until the following Friday. VISCOUNT PALMERSTON : Of course I cannot speak for other people; but so far as I can judge I do not apprehend that the notice which I have given need interfere with the right hon. Gentleman's intention of bringing on the Navy Estimates. But if he states that he cannot begin his estimates after eight o'clock, I can only say that he is laying down a position which is an entire departure from the practice pursued by all other Ministers who have questions of this kind to bring on. It frequently happened to me when I was Secretary at War to have to bring on the Army Estimates at a much later hour than that. I can only understand, therefore, that the course pursued by the right hon. Gentleman is a convenient method of postponing until some future day the introduction of the Bill of which notice was given for Monday next. MR. HADFIELD hoped, that his hon. Friends the Members for Berwick and Montrose would consent to postpone their Motions, in order to make way for the im portant Government measures of which notice had been given. EDUCATION AND CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA. NOTICE OF MOTION WITHDRAWN. MR. WARREN, who had given notice of moving the following Resolutions : 1. That, Her Majesty having been graciously pleased, on assuming the Government of India, to proclaim to the Princes, Chiefs, and People thereof, Her firm reliance on the truth of Christianity, at the same time disclaiming the right, and the desire, to impose Iler convictions on any of Her subjects; it is the opinion of this House, that the Government scheme of Native Education, should include instruction in the Holy Scriptures, but that no religious teaching, of any kind, should be made compulsory on pupils objecting to receive it. 2. That, scrupulously respecting the rights of property in the Native Religious Endowments, the Government should leave the entire administration of such endowments to the Natives themselves; and that no salutes, or other marks of honour in tianity, should be rendered to any of the Native religions; nor any processions, or other public exhibitions, allowed, which may disturb the public humanity, or the religious convictions of any class peace, corrupt the public morals, or offend against of Her Majesty's subjects in India. 3. That, regarding Caste as a distinction rather of race, than of religion, and opposed to the moral House is of opinion that Caste ought not to be in and social progress of the Native community, this any way countenanced in the Government Schools, or in any department of the public service. 4. That, while strictly abstaining from the employment, directly or indirectly, of political or official power, influence, or authority, for the purpose of promoting or enforcing the extension of the Christian religion, it will be the duty of the Indian Governments to continue their exertions for enlightening and informing the Native mind; to afford every facility to voluntary efforts for the propagation of the Gospel; and to protect the rights of conscience, and freedom of individual action, in all Her Majesty's subjects in India, whether or not in Her Majesty's Civil or Military Service, latter case, whether adhering to their own forms and whether European or Native and, in the of belief, or acknowledging, together with Her Majesty, the One True God and Saviour of Mankind rose and said :— : Mr. Speaker: I have to intreat the indulgence of the House, which I am sure will be readily granted when I say that I am addressing you, Sir, and the House probably for the last time, while I explain the course which circumstances have forced tions you me to take, with reference to the Resoluhave now called on me to move. I feel it a duty incumbent on me to do so, here in my place, because these Resolutions are, as no one will doubt, of the highest importance, and invested with great interest in the eyes of many thousands of excellent persons out of doors, who are awaiting with anxiety the issue of any discussion, within these walls, of a subject so momentous. I have also the honour of knowing that very many hon. Members of this House share that anxiety, whether agreeing with, or differing from the Resolutions. You may recollect Sir, that on the last day of the last Session I gave notice, in the following terms-cautious, as I hope they will be thought-of my intention to submit to the House certain Resolutions on a very early day in the then next Session, "Expressive of the opinion of this House, as to the principles by which the Queen's Government in India should hereafter be regulated, with reference to the promotion of Education, and the adoption of such preparatory measures as can be safely brought into action, with a view, ultimately, to the extension of Christianity." Fully aware of the responsibility which consistent with the Royal profession of Chris- the giving of such a notice cast upon me Temple, 16th Feb. 1859. MY DEAR LORD CHANCELLOR, "When your letter reached me I was immersed in statistics relating to my Resolutions on Education and Christianity in India, specially appointed for to-morrow week (Thursday the 24th inst.) and which have been on the Votes since the first day of the Session. I have devoted a great deal of valuable time former, accepting the office, and stating during the recess, to the framing of these Re- most distinctly that I did so, because I solutions, which have been submitted to the found that I could retain my seat; his letter ablest and most experienced men to whom to me having made no allusion whatever I could get access-men of practical fami- to the matter. As I feel this a matter liarity with the subject, some of them having touching my personal honour and characresided in India, and to the preparation of ter in a vital point, I beg leave to read the such arguments, and the collection of such first portion of the letter which I sent off information, as tended to support the Reso- that evening. lutions. Well, Sir, yesterday week (the 16th inst.) I was busily engaged preparing for this evening, when I most unexpectedly received from the Lord Chancellor a letter offering me, in general and unconditional terms, the vacant office of Master in Lunacy, which had, a day or two before, been the subject of painful allusion in this House. I trust I need not assure the House, that neither directly nor indirectly had I solicited such an offer, nor could I possibly entertain the least idea of doing anything so unbecoming and derogatory. After recovering from the surprise into which the letter had thrown me, I took for granted that the office, being of a judicial nature, would on general principles be inconsistent with a seat in Parliament, and immediately wrote a letter to the Lord Chancellor, in which, after calling his attention to my Resolutions then standing in the Votes for this evening, I said "I am profoundly in earnest in this matter that of attempting, however humbly and unworthily, to lay before this House and the country, the elements of a scheme of acknowledged Christian policy, for the government of a fifth of the human race. If an office of £50,000 a year were offered to me, it could not and should not induce me to desert my post-voluntarily occupied-and subject me justly to the reproach of men, and the condemnation of my own conscience, as having basely sold my birth-right-the privilege of such an opportunity for a mess of pottage. I know, my dear Lord Chancellor, that no man living more thoroughly appreciates such a feeling as this than yourself. If, therefore, it is necessary for me to decide between this day and Thursday the 24th instant, I beg most gratefully and respectfully at once to decline your offer." As I was finishing this letter, which I now have with me, it occurred to me that this particular office might, after all, not be one that would require me to vacate my seat; and after carefully referring to the statute creating the existing jurisdiction in Lunacy, and other Acts of Parliament and authorities in Election law, and consulting with a gentleman for whose opinion on these matters we all have a great respect, I came to the conclusion that acceptance of the office did not interfere with my seat in Parliament. On this I wrote a second letter to the Lord Chancellor, not sending the ! "Your offer took me altogether by surprise; and as I find, on referring to the statutes and authorities, that I am not disabled from sitting in Parliament, being appointed not by the Crown, but by the Lord Chancellor, and also during good behaviour, natured persons might have attached to me, of I am relieved from any imputation which ill having sacrificed to personal considerations the discharge of that which I regard as a great public duty." Happening to see the Lord Chancellor late that evening, he entirely concurred in this view, congratulated me upon the circumstance and requested me to attend him in his private room in the House of Lords the next afternoon, to be sworn in. When I did so, I was greatly concerned and surprised to find that his Lordship had in the meantime come to the conclusion, which he expressed to me in the most considerate terms, that the office of Master in Lunacy was not one that ought to be held by a Member of the House; that he intended to insert a prohibitory clause to that effect in the pending Lunacy Bill, and could not, under such circumstances, confer on me the appointment, except on that footing. I begged time to consider so serious a matter, the aspect of which had been so suddenly altered, and in the kindest way he gave me till the next evening to do so; informing me, in answer to my inquiry, that as the business of the office was already in arrear, he could not think of keeping the office vacant, as I had proposed, till after the 24th inst. Having consulted with a friend in the country, without whose advice and concurrence I take no step of importance in public life, I waited on the Lord Chancellor on the ensuing evening, and told him that if he remained in the same mind-and he said he did, subsequent reflection having only strengthened his conclusions-I begged leave finally to decline the offer he had made me, and which I said I felt it impossible to accept, without disabling me from |
