The Welshman

HOUSE OF COMMONS, THURSDAY, March 12. On the order for going into Committee of Supply, Mr. Palk moved a series of resolutions to the effect that Sir John M'Neill and Colonel Tulloch ably fulfilled the duty of inquiring into the management of the Commissariat Department; that the evidence in their report proved the intense sufferings of the army, and that great mortality was occasioned by overwork, exposure, and want of food and clothing, in December, 1854, and January, 1855 that the examinations of the Board of General Officers materially supported the conclusions of the Commissioners as to the want of organization in the Quartermaster-General's, Com- missariat, and Transport services and that, from the report of the Board, this inefficiency must be attributed to the imperfect arrangpment or conduct of those depart- ments. In support of these resolutions Mr. Palk went over the sad details of the horrible and heart-rending sufferings, and the great, excessive, and unusual mortality of the Crimean army, contending that the conclusion of the Commissioners, that they were attributable to departmental inefficiency, had been, by implication, confirmed by the Board at Chelsea. Mr. Black eulogized the services of Sir John M'Neill and his co- comiii iss io Tier, whom he thought had conferred incalculable benefit upon the county and he strongly con- demned the treatment they had experienced. Lord Palmerston, after repeating the testimony he had already borne to the merits of the Commissioners, observed that the speech of Mr. Palk would have been very much in place two years ago, but since peace had been made, and so long a time had elapsed, a recital of calamities past and gone was at this moment out of date. The events had passed into the domain of history. Without dis- paragement to Sir John M'Neill and Colonel Tulloch, he thought the medical commission had rendered more important services than thn former could have rendered. The motion was not one which the House, in his opinion, ought to accede to, and he hoped Mr. Palk would not press it to a division. The motion was strongly opposed by Sir J. Fitz- gerald. General Peel said he had arrived at a strong opinion that the calamities which had visited our troops in the Crimea were not in the power of any individual in the Crimea to control, and he complained of the clainour and unjust outcry which had pursued individuals. He did not underrate the miseries of our soldiers in 1854 and 1855 but individuals were not answerable for them, and he proceeded to enumerate the causes to which he thought they were attributable, the main causes being, in his opinion, the commencing a great war with little means, and undertaking a military operation upon a large scale without any reserve, in compliance with the cry for carrying on the war with vigour. He vindicated the proceedings and the conclusions of the Board of which he was a member, and he urged that Mr. Palk, in his speech as well as in his resolutions, had cast undeserved imputations. The services of the Commissioners, in his opinion, had been somewhat overrated. Mr. S. Herbert said his first reflection upon reading the resolutions was regret at questions being reopened over which a veil of oblivion should be thrown. He admitted that the Government of which he was a member had been to blame for attempting too much. With respect to the Commissioners, the question was, had they executed an invidious duty ably, and had the Crown marked in an unmistakeable manner its sense of their services ? He was of opinion that those services were important, and that the Commissioners had not received justice; and he proposed that all the resolutions should be withdrawn, except the first, which should be incorpora- ted with the latter part of an amendment of which notice had been given by Mr. J. Ewart (but which he could not move in point of form), so that the resolution would stand thus That Sir John M'Neill and Colonel Tulloch ably fulfilled the duty intrusted to them of inquiring into the arrangement and management of the Commissariat Department, and, considering the able services rendered by them and the high testimony in their favour by Her Majesty's Government, that an humble address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that some especial mark of approbation be conferred upon them" Sir J. Pakington considered that the services of the Commissioners had not been recognized to the extent to which they were entitled, and he supported the proposi- tion of Mr S. Herbert. Mr. J. Ewart was ready to adopt the proposition, to which Mr. Palk acceded. Lord Palmerston deferred to what appeared to be the opinion of the House, and the original motion being withdrawn, the amended motion was agreed to. Sir J. Fergusson called attention to the present position of non-commissioned officers promoted to commissions in the army during the war. The House then went into a Committee of Supply on the Army Estimates, when. Mr F. Peel said, the money votes for these estiriates were on account for four months only, and, as the whole votes would come before the ensuing Parliament, it would be more convenient not to anticipate discussion and ex- planations upon the money votes. The case was different with the number of men, which must be voted at once,- namely 126,796 men, being a reduction of 119,920 upon the vote of Itist year, which was for 246,718 men. Mr. Peel entered into various details relating to the different portions of the forces. The several votes were agreed to, after discussion. Lord Palmerston read the reply of Her Majesty to the Address of the House, voted on Tuesday, signifying Her Majesty's intention to confer some signal mark of her royal favour upon the Speaker, and gave notice that he should this day move that the House do resolve itself into a committee to consider the subject. In a Committee of Ways and Means, E21,049,700 Exchequer-bills were voted towards making good the supply. The Income-tax Bill was read a third time and passed, after a short discussion. The third reading of the Extraparochial Places Bill likewise gave rise to a brief debate. It ultimately passed. Other Bills passed the same stage, and some through committee The House adjourned at a few minutes to 11 o'clock. FRIDAY, MARCH 13. On the motion that the House at its rising do adjourn until Monday, in reply to questions put by Sir A. Camp- bell, respecting the Persian treaty. Lord Palmerston observed that it was very inconvenient to discuss a treaty before the House was in possession of it; but, without discussing the treaty, he could say that very great inconvenience had arisen, and was likely to arise, from a practice in Persia by which foreign Powers were entitled to exercise a protection over Persian subjects and that it would be for the benefit of Persia herself if the practice could be discontinued. It was not, indeed, for the advantage of one country to abstain from the practice while it continued to be pursued by another, but Her Ma- jesty's Government would be happy to renounce all right and protection over Persian subjects, except those in British employment, other countries, and especially Russia, made the same renunciation. Mr. Layard said there was a more serious question, whether the terms agreed to by the Persian Ambassador at Paris were not offered at Constantinople, and that the Persian Ambassador had not been even willing to give more. He lamented the effects of the operations in the Persian Gulf, which, he said, had converted a friendly tribe into blood enemies. Lord Palmerston said the negotiations at Constantinople had been broken off by Feruk Khan himself. The motion for the adjournment was withdrawn. The House having resolved itself into a Committee. Lord Palmerston moved a resolution to give effect to the message of Her Majesty, in reply to the address of the House on the retirement of the Speaker, that an annuity of E,1,000 be placed at the disposal of Her Majesty to he ,;I),)sa l of Her Ala j esty to lie granted to the Right Hon. Charles Shaw Lefevre, upon his retirement from the office of Speaker. The motion was agreed to nem. con. Un the report of the Committee of Supply, Mr. C. Villiers gave an explanation with reference to what had fallen from General Peel the preceding evening j respecting the political opinions of the Board of General Officers at Chelsea. Mr. Stafford made some remarks regarding the Army Medical Department, which were answered by Mr. F. Peel. The report was agreed to, as well as the report of Ways and Means. In a Committee of Ways and Means a vote was agreed to out of the Consolidated Fund to cover the supplies voted during the session. Various Bills were read a third time and passed. The Mutiny and Marine Mutiny Bills were brought in and read a first time. The House adjourned at a quarter to 6 o'clock. SATURDAY, MARCH 14. The House sat for a short tine to-day. The report upon the Speaker's annuity was brought up and agreed to. i On the order for the second reading of the Mutiny Bill, a conyprsation took place upon the subject of a clause exempting private houses in Scotland from the liability of having soldiers billetted upou them. The Bill, as well as the Marine Mutiny Bill, was read a second time. Mr. S. Estcourt expressed his regret at the unavoidable withdrawal of the Savings Banks Bill, introduced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which, in his opinion, would be a great improvement on the existing law. The Chaneellor of the Exchequer signified his intention i to re-introduce it in the next Parliament. The Exchequer-bills Bill and the Appropriation Bill were brought in and read a first time. MONDAY, MARCH 16. The Speaker's Retirement Bill, the Exchequer-bills Bill, and the Consolidated Fund (Appropriation) Bill were read a second time, after an explanation by the Chancellqr i of the Exchequer, in reply to Sir H. Willoughby, with refprence to the last mentioned Bill. The Mutiny Bill and the Marine Mutiny Bill passed through committee. The Chancellor of the Exchequer moved for the produc- tion of an explanation of Sir C. Trevelyan, respecting a passage in the report of General Officers appointed to inquire into certain statements in the report of Sir John M'Neill and Colonel Tulloch, in consequence, he said, of certain remarks made in the course of the debate upon certai,i remar k s iii, Mr. Palk's motion on Friday. After some remarks by Colonel North, Mr. M. Chambers, and General Codrington, the motion was agreed to. Sir E. Perry moved for a copy of correspondence be- tween Mir Jafer Ali Khan and the Court of Directors, and between the same and the President of the Board of Control respecting the property of the late Nawab of Surat, and asked Mr. V. Smith what were the intentions of Government relating thereto. He pointed out certain modes of proceeding by which, in his opinion, justice might be done to the party claimant in the case. Mr. F. Kelly urged that the Act passed by the Indian Legislature in this matter had set aside the prerogative of the Crown, and was therefore void in law. Mr. V. Smith did not object to the production of the correspondence, and gave explanations concerning the case, which, he said, Sir E. Perry had not stated correctly or fairly. As to the Act of the Indian Legislature of 1818, which had been in force for ten years, if it was really in- valid, recourse should be had to a court of justice in Eng- land or in India. It was open for the party claiming to contest the Act in that manner, and he thought that, under the circumstances, he (Mr. Smith) could not proceed further in the case. After a few remarks by Mr. Lowe, and a reply by Sir E Perry, the motion was agrred to. The House adjourned at twenty minutes past six o'clock. TUESDAY, MARCH 17. I Mr. Bromley-Moore called attention to the question of the Sound Dues, and asked tha Chancellor of the Exchequer if a treaty had been signed to capitalize those dues and indemnify Denmark for giving up her reputed rights, and if it was the intention of Her Majesty's Government that such treaty should be acted upon before Parliament voted the money. In supporting a motion for the production of papers upon this subject he observed that the dues had been hypothecated, and it was important to know whether the money was to paid to the Danish Government or to the bondholders. He remarked likewise upon the comparative decrease of British tonnage passing the Sound, and that the complaint against the dues was not on account of the money demand, but the delay. After a question put by Mr. Liddell, The Chancellor of the Exchequer said the negotiations which had been carried on by the principal States of Europe for the redemption of these dues (which were detrimental to the trade of this country, not only on account of the sums levied, but of the delay and the additional charges thereby I incurred) had terminated on the 14th of this month in two treaties, signed at Copenhagen, -one between Denmark, on the one part, and Russia, Prussia, France, Great Britain, and other States on the other, containing general stipula- tions the second was a separate treaty between Great Britain and Denmark. Copies of these treaties, as signed, had not > et been received, and he was therefore unable to answer the questions put to him with confidence, but from the draught he could state their effect, without pledging himself to the accuracy of his statement. Bv the general treaty the Sound would be opened on the 1st of April, and the compensation to be paid by each Power was fixed. By the separate convention between Great Britain and Denmark the amount fixed for this country, subject to the decision of Parliament, was to be paid within three months. The question of hypothecation was between the Danish Govern- ment and the bondholders. Sir H. Willoughby inquired what was the amount of the compensation. I The Chancellor of the Exchequer replied 11,125, 206. The motion was withdrawn. Certain Bills were advanced a stage. Mr. Disraeli inquired whether it was correct, as had been reported, that Her Majesty's Government had offered to a foreign Power, if any attempt to establish Republican institutions were made in the south of Italy, to interfere, by fore of arms if necessary to prevent them. Lord Palmerston said there had been no such offer. Questions were subsequently put by Mr. Henley and Mr. Disraeli upon the subject with the same result. Some further business was disposed of, and the House adjourned at 25 minutes before 6 o'clock. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18. The Speaker's Retirement Bill was read a third time and passed. The Speaker oxpressed his acknowledgments to the House for this mark of their approbation of his services, and for the noble and generous manner in which those services had been rewarded. Other bills were likewise read a third time and passed. Mr. Fagan moved the second reading of the Ministers' Money (Ireland) Bill. Mr. Bagwell and Mr. Meagher spoke in favour of the measuro. Mr. Horsman stated the intentions of the Government with regard to this question. Considering the difficulty experienced in collecting the tax, and that the attempt to enforce it by litigation was futile, the Government had I come to the conclusion that the only adequate remedy was that suggested by the Committee of 1347, the spirit of I which was embodied in this Bill—namely, the abolition of the tax. Mr. G. A. Hamilton protested against this mode of dealing with the matter, and moved to deter the second reading of the Bill for three weeks. Admiral Jones seconded this amendment. The Bill was supporied by Mr. Macguirc, Mr. Black, Mr. Beamish, and Mr. Cowan. Lord Paimerstou said the Ministers' money would be pro- vided out of the resources of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners by whom the amount was at present advanced. After some further discussion, the amendment was nega- tived, and the Bill was read (formally) a second time, being ordered to be committed that day three months. Certain Bills were wioiiurawn, and oilier bills were in- troduced. In reply to questions, Mr. \vilson stated that the only line of telegraphic com- munication between India and Europe with regard to which the Government had entered into any engagements was that from Seleticia to the Persian Gulf, and the only assistance to be given to the company would be in the shape of payment for work done when the line was completed. In answer to a question put by Mr. Otwav, Lord Palmerston said, the affairs of the Wallachian Pro- vinces were now in a train of settlement; the Austrian troops had begun to evacuate the provinces, Divans were about to assemble to make arrangements for the future set- tlement of the country, and he had no doubt that the Wal- lachian refugees would be allowed to return to their homes. The House adjourned, at half-past 2 o'clock, until Saturday.

1- THE APPROCIIIAG ELECEIOX- I [From the Morning Post.] I The practical question which the country is now called upon to decide is not so much the propriety of the conduct of the Government in the matter of China es the propriety of the House of Commons in its vote upon the Govern- ment. The House of Lords by a large majority, decided, after a most telling appeal to its gravity and disinterested- ness, that the Government was deserving of confidence in the matter of the Chinese quarrel. The House of Com- mons, by a small majority, reversed that judgment. The question is—Which of the two Houses gave sentence to the satisfaction of the country ? One or other is un- doubtedly risht. If the Lords are right, the Commons are wrong; and the country must rectify the mistake. If the Commons are right, than the country, by returning the same members, or such of them as are candidates, will set its seal to their testimony and endorse their acts. This is the practical question which every constituency will have to settle. It is the business of the country, and what is the business of the couutry, when such an appeal is pending, is the business of every elector, and of every man who has any legitimate influence over an elector. Another week, and in all probability, the present Par- liament will have ceased to exist. Then candidates will begin their canvass, and every constituency be plunged into a whirl of excitement. It is desirable, befoie that heat sets in, that men should take an advantage of cool judgment to make up their minds. Ihey have before them two issues—one clear and certain the other, as incapable of previous calculation as was ever heard of in the history of chances. There is, on the one hand, the issue of a triumph for the Ministry whose policy is now on its trial; on the other a defeat of Ministers without any compact party to succeed to their positi,)]' to take up the thread of public affairs at the point at which Ministers will leave it, and carry it forward to the satisfaction of the country and the advancement of its honour and dignity in the eyes of foreign Powers. The cotini -ry knows what it has before it if Lord Palmerston comes in. Under his guidance the Chinese difficulty will be composed, as that of Russia and Persia have been. Promptitude and firmness will secure attention to the reasonable demands. of England in the hands of her representatives at Ilong Kong, and we shall soon cease to hear any Irol.e f this temporary feud. The War tax will go off, and the income tax rcirh at its up- pointed term its long-desired end. Thus much can be confidently forecast as the first, the natural, and sure con- sequence of a majority for Ministers. Much more would of course follow, but these are the pressing questions; and ot their wise disposal, in the hands of Lord Palmerston. the country would be sure* But of what can the country be sure if it rejects the present Administration? It may, by a stretch of effort, Ket a small Conservati'e majority. But who are to be the Ministers in such a case ? Is the country anxious for a coalition between Lord Derby and Mr. Gladstone ? Sup- posing it could be formr-d, would it work ? Mr. Gladstone has shown the waywardness of his disposition several times, and in curious ways. He is an ambitious man, and not very likely to renounce the leadership of the House of C mmons in the event of his taking office. The leadership of the Conservatives is already held by one quite as ambi- tious as Air. Gladstone, almost as eloquent, and certainly deserving more of his party. If the Derbyites and Peelites work together for a while, merely to oust Lord Palmerston, they cannot bear being yoked together very long. They do not assimilate. They arc fundamentally different in tastes, principles, and views of political life. Sooner or later one will trip the other up, and the new Conservative party will fall to pieces. We saw what Mr. Gladstone and two of his colleagues did when they had joined the present Admini4- tra'iou. They tried it till they thought they could em- barrass the Minister by retiring, and then out they went, to the great disgust of the country. It will be so again should Mr. Gladstone's few followers lend their help to sustain a Derby Cabinet. The Freetraders and the Pro- tectionists must indeed be hard pressed before they can be found sitting upon the same benches. Mr. Gladstone must have choked down much of that virtuous indignation with which he was wont once to attack the present Conservative leader. Mr. Disraeli, in his turn, must practise much self- restraint before he can cherish any very affectionate feeling, even in the bonds of ofifce, for the right hon. gentleman who once so unsparingly denounced him as unfit for his office and secured his overthrow. Well, then, it is Palmerston, and a compact and consistent following which may hold together for years with increasing ef- ficiency or Derby, and an incongruous set, backed up by talent, no doubt, but united by no first principles, and in danger of falling to pieces at some inopportune moment on the shortest possible notice. Put it how we will, the country knows what it has to expect with Lord Palmerston. With any other leader at the present time all is darkness and uncertainty. Lord Derby has been tried and found wanting as a leader. His subordinates have been found wanting, too. The Government they pretended to carry on broke to pieces in the first struggle and if the same men come in again, again it must fall to pieces. It could only stand by tho help of other men. These other men cannot, without running counter to the antecedents of their life, either join such a Government or long continue in it. Lord Derby's choice is limited to a few Peelites, who have their own game to play, and whose principles on all great com- mercial questions are the reverse of those of the men with whom these gentlemen would be associated. So that it comes to this, that should the country return a majority adverse to Loia 1 almerston, it will in effect-in the present state of political parties — stultify itself. Putting the struggle as between Lord Palmerston and Lord Derby, the country has its choice between simplicity and confusion- the harmonious co-operation of men of kindred feeling, and mutual confidence or a coalition of men who never have worked, and, with their present principles, never can work together. Any third candidate for leadership seems at present out of the question. Lord J. Russell and Mr. Gladstone are both ready and willing—perhaps something more than "l'il Iillg but the time of the one has gone by, and that of the other is not yet come. In this state of parties, and with th,se issues before it, the country will know how to do its duty, and will not foi-get that it is not so much the Government of Lord Palmerston that is on trial, but the House of Commons. (From the Sun.) Mr. Cobden has done his best to befool the country, but it is to be hoped that the country can well look to itself. He has sent down an issue to be tried at the hustings and the polling booth, which the Cabinet had settled satisfac- torily, and. no thanks to him, if that too rare opportunity— a General Election—be not thrown away upon the savage Yeh, and the most savage of the semi-barbarian Chinese. It will require all the efforts of all hearty Liberals to pre- vent the great septennial chance from being wasted about w hat, only in the most indirect manner, concerns our own domestic progress. The last Parliament was elected to decide an iosue already settled, Protection—that was almost entirely a waste election as a Parliament for the country it accomplished nothing but the passing of a few bills, which had been awaiting some time, which their parents couid not reject, and which their foster-parents thought it well to get the credit of. Let electors take care that they be not again taken in. If it were needful to sacrifice everything to bury Protection, it is not necessary to waste an election on a Chinese War—Disraeli and Lord John have at last acknowledged that practically that business is now settled that the next Parliament will have little to do with it; that in a word, if Cobden were Prime Minister, he must fight it out. Mr. Cobden tells us the Ministerial Programme is Pal- merston-no Reform—and a Chinese War. • We care not what programme Manchester chooses to assign to the Ministry no man better knows than Mr. Cobden, that the country can, if it be only awake, put what it pleases into a Ministerial programme. He has seen the Corn Laws re- pealed by the Parliament elected to maintain them, and buried by another elected to revive them. The Electors of England can make a Reform Parliament of one chosen to reverse a Cobden crotchet on the Chinese War. Will they do it ? Will they allow themselves to be stultified by cot- ton spinners and Peace Society men ? We do not know, however, yet, that we are not unjust to cotton spinners. If they stand by those amongst them who first uttered their voice on receiving the news of the Cobden-Gibson triumph, they will demonstrate plainly that cotton spinners do not surrender English common sense to the men of crotchets. Our readers will see that the two great classes who need political reform have spoken out. The represented and unrepresented have each made their demand. The repre- sented want a free vote, and the unrepresented a place on the register. The Ballot and the Suffrage; these are the words which must not be forgotten on the hustings. There is no fear whatever about Lord Palmerston and China. The Premier is safe enough, and we are glad he is. The peni- tents all over the country loudly proclaim that Palmerston cannot be ejected. Reformers are free, therefore, to fight their own battle. They cannot endanger the Government, but they can put reform into the Ministerial programme. We are confident that if the country pronounced for the Ballot and Household Suffrage, or any other suffrage, that palmerston would carry what they asked. He is a Con- servative, they say, at heart. We believe it. We believe the same of Lord John Russell. Lord John, except for party purposes, would not like to move an inch beyond the Reform Bill, and no Tory would care to repeal it. Neither would Lord Palmerston. But as surely as Lord Palmerston sits on the Treasury benches, so surely would he, if Mr. Hayter told him, after the elections, that three-fourths of the constituencies had voted for the Ballot and the Suffrage himself initiate both, or it may be, put them in the Queen's Speech. It is the fault of Reformers themselves if Lord Palmer- ston be not a Reformer in the next Parliament. No man amongst the Premier class objects less to reform,—it is the bother of it he dislikes, and he cares nothing about it. He would infinitely rather reform than go over, he and his, to the Opposition benches. Who imagines that Lord Palmer- ston would quit the Treasury benches from aversion to reform ? He is of too genial a temperament, in fact, to go outon anything that a majority of his countrymen were eager to have. He would rather, like all the rest, let reform alone, but he would much rather take it up than hind it over to some one else, or be at variance with the bulk of the people. We have now, then, in our hands just the very instrument to put Lord Palmerston right, and we have in him a Premier who would give us quite as good a Reform Bill as the Vienna Lord, and perhaps a better one. It is just now remitted to us to see, ne quid detrimenti republica capeat, and if Lord Palmerston do not turn reformer, we may justly exclaim, nos, nos-populi desumus The com- monwealth is in our hands, and it will be our fault, oars alone, if we use not our power. Reformers have been lulled to sleep by coalition Minis- ters, and divided by war. There is nothing now to excuse inattention. A war in China can be no pretext for their not going heart and soul into reform. Seven weary 'yr'ars may wait them, if they demand not, now, shorter parlia- ments electoral serfdom at intermediate elections, and the next genera! election, if they do not insist on the Ballot and a relatively diminished constituency, if they do not require an extended franchise. The House of Commons makes Ministers, hut the people make the House. It is useless whining and moaning to Hercules when our own shoulders to the wheel is ail that is wanted. Let any one but take that notable and impartial Red Book, Dod's Electoral Facts"-let him just turn to the proportion of voters to the population, and notice the miserable fractiou of the population entitled to a vote let him glance over the paragraphs innumerable informing whosc" influence" predominates in the boroughs—into the counties he needs hardly to trouble himself to look—let him add to this all he remembers of bribery and corruption in 1852, and, then, let him ask whether Reformers can, with decency, be content to leave our electoral laws and constituencies as they are. We do hope that Liberals will not be shame-faced or dila- tory. Addresses already show that candidates are sensible of the rights of electors to free voting, and of non-electors to the suffrage. These are the fundamental points. They are to all the rest what the Repeal of the Corn-laws was to all other monopolies. Carry the Ballot, indeed, and you will carry all the rest. Untie the voters' hands, and they will unfetter the non-electors' hands—and both will then demand, at least, Triennial Parliaments. Church Rates, Jewish disabilities, army reform, and we know not what reforms, will follow. The Ballot is the way to all. If we coulrlvin a member to only one thing, we would have his word of honour, that, life and limb permitting, he would be in his place and vote for the Ballot.

THE LIBERAL CRY. The cry with which the Liberals are going to the country is purely of a negative character. We have pointed out long ago that in the case of threatened defeat, they in- variably had recourse to the one device of crying out, ''the Tories are coming;" and now that a general election is at hand their armoury has not been increased. Still, from half the boroughs in the country rises up one groan of terror at the bare possibility of a Tory Government. What is it that inspires this consternation we profess we do not know. Some of the most advanced measures of progress have been passed when Tories were in power,—forced from them, wrung out of them, or anything else which the Radical intellect is capable of alleging, but nevertheless passed-a fact which cannot be asserted of any Liberal Government. And now at the present day, as none of the Tory members to our knowledge eat little children, practise the black art, or have entered into correspondence with the Pope for the revival of the Inquisition, we cannot appreciate the class of minds which are so painic-struck at the prospect of their accession. Joking apart, however, will these practical business-like men, who help to swell the clamour in our provincial towns, accord us a few minutes' patience while we ask them a very simple but a very pertinent question. What do they expect to get from the Liberals, which they have no hope of obtain- ing from the Tories ? By Liberals of course we mean the party of Lord Palmerston. By Tories we do not mean the party of Mr. Bentinck. Our practical friend must look at the question in a practical manner. He cannot pick a Go- vernment. His choice is limited to two. Let us then, we say, examine his grounds of preference. Does he, falling back upon the old Liberal creed, tell us that he desires the abolition of aristocratic extravagance, and a reduction of taxation for the benefit of the people ? Does he tell us in the same spirit that wars should be con- fined to wars of self-defence, either dhect or indirect, and that to force our own views upon foreign potentates is equaity impolitic and injurious from whatever party such conduct may proceed-from Tories at the Congress of Vi- enna. or from Whigs at the Congress of Paris ? Does he demand the abolion of nepotism and patronage in the distri- bution of Government appointments, and a thorough reform of civil-service administration ? Does he wish to see candi- dates elected for merit, and a system of examination introduced which shall open up the service to every educated youth in the kingdom ? Does he sigh for an amelioration of our tedious and costly processes of law?— for the diffiusion of general education ?-for a comprehensive and w holesome penal system which shall relieve him from the terrors of the garotter or burglar ? If these are his demands, we can point confidently to the Liberal and Conser- vative parties, and bid him look upon this picture and upon that. The Tories proclaim the necessity of reducing our establishments to a peace footing, and of seeking for effi- ciency in completeness of equipment and perfuction of dis- cipline, rather than in more strength of numbers. Lord Panmure and Lord Palmerston are for an extravagant ex- penditure and a large standing force. The Liberals meddle with every petty principality in Europe, and would scatter their image through all lands at the point of the bayonet. Mahomet himself was not a more decided votary of iirmed proselytism than Lord Palmerston. Nor, indeed, is this the only point of resemblance. But the Tories say that as England has reached her present fortunate constitution through freedom from interference, we ought to allow foreign nations the same chance and that constant inter- vention between kings and subjects, be they strong or be they weak, is in reality as debasing towards them as it is dangerous and injurious to ourselves. In two words, the restless, dissatisfied spirit of Liberalism as naturallv vents itself in war as the conservative and insular spirit of Tory- ism clings to the policy of peace. To proceed with our enumeration. The Tories reduce taxation and keep faith with the people. The Liberals maintain taxation and break it. The only civil-service reformer of the day with a possibility of success is Lord Stanley. The only law reformers who are not laughed at are Lord St. Leonards an d 8ir Fitzroy Kelly. The only educational reformer who is it not an impracticable enthu- siast, or a convicted blunderer, is Sir John Pakiii.-ten. The only measure of domestic legislation, in which the Liberals have not actually broken down, is the Convict Bill of Sir George Grey and that was only redeemed from destruction because it to some extent adopted the principle which a Tory newspaper has been foremost in promoting. Now, then, will the practical man tell us why it is that he i crys out for an\ thing rather than a Tory Government? If we press him with facts, he is dumb and theories cannot stand without facts. We know very well there is a certain class in the country who have a very fair ground of difference with the Torics. But the kudness of the clamour against them seems al ways in proportion to the unreasonableness of the clamourer. The Radicals who honestly desire changes which the Tories would resist, are comparatively quiet. The middle-class Liberal (!) who is opposed to such changes as these, but honestly desires others which the Tories would accomplish, is vigorous in abuse of them. He has been so long accustomed to abuse them, that with true British doggedness he would rather cut his throat than relinquish the practice. He is, without knowing it, as bigoted a Tory as Eldon or Wetherall. Yes. With the Radicals the Tories have a fair fight to sustain. They will uphold the existing framework of society by the preservation of primogeniture, and the pro- tection of that love of family which is deeply implanted in Englishmen. They will maintain the integrity of the Upper House of Parliament, and the independence of the National Church. They are eminently Protestant, and have as their leader a statesmen who, having sacrificed power to the preservation of Protestantism in Ireland, is not likely to misuse power for the injury of Protestantism in England. But faith must be kept where pledged, at whatever incon- venience. And the Tory party will lose nothing by the secession of men who advocate a retrograde policy, and a deliberate breach of obligations. Englishmen have been frightened by a bug-bear long enoug-h. Let them pluck up courage and look steadily at the image which Palmerston waves before their eyes. They will find it a mere fictioii-a bundle of old rags, representing nothing that ever was or ever can be. Palmerston knows that his power depends on keeping up the illusion, and, like Lord Peter, storms horribly at those who will not agree to disbelieve the evidence of their senses. But., if we are not mistaken, the reign of deceit is nearly over. Palmerston's Liberalism is found out, and will be classed hereafter with the piety of Louis XI., or the tolerance of James II.— Press.

MR. DISRAELI'S NEW DISCOVERY. I Mr. Disraeli has discovered a new plot. If the mantle of Hume has fallen upon Gladstone, the mantle of Urquhart has fallen upon Disraeli. Mr. Urquhart having retired from the business of impeaching Lord Palmerston in order to the more useful occupation, it is reported, of teaching the English people how to wash themselves after the Oriental fashion, Mr. Disraeli has appointed himself to the vacant office and although he may occasionally neglect business in order to attend to Income Tax, China, and other amusements, his true line is the detection of plots. Curiously enough he acts as detective, not on behalf of legitimate authority on the Continent, but on behalf of Republicanism. The new discovery is, that Her Majesty's Government have made an offer to a foreign Power to undertake, that in case there was any attempt to establish republican institu- tions in the South of Italy, they would prevent the esta- blishment of such institutions, even if necessary by force of arms." There is one flaw in this discovery,—that it is totally untrue. After various fencing questions by Mr. Disraeli, with the assistance of Mr. Henley, Lord Palmerston gave this distinct and categorical answer :—" No communication has been made to any foreign Power that we would prevent the establishment of Republican institutions in Italy." From the context it appears that Mr. Disraeli must have had some hopes of Republican institutions, to be established at Naples. Now we can assure him, on the authority of all parties in Italy, that there has not been the least idea of reviving the Parthenopean Republic. There is not the slightest notion of establishing a Republic in any part of Italy. On the contrary, the Republican party is quite hors dc combat from the extension of constitutional Liberalism. There can, therefore, be no question about the establishment of Republican institutions," or the reverse. Mr. Disraeli's sympathies and hopes are outrunning the facts. We all remember the grand discovery which he made early in the present session. He found that there was a treaty—a secret treaty with Austria, to interfere in Italy by force of arms. He made this discovery in the present year, when lo it tamed out that the treaty was one with which this country had nothing to do; that it was a treaty between France and Austria; it was not secret; its force had expired; it had never been called into effect; it provided only to (letend Austria against any combination between the common enemy, Russia, and any Italian allies of that enemy. Evcy. body knew all about it just at the time when the convention was agreed upon so that the discovery of 1857 was the common talk of the newspapers in 1855, and the hornble consequences which Mr. Disraeli traced out had never hap- pened, and never could have happened. It is just e same in the present instance. He has found a conspiracy between our Government and some foreign Power against a Par,theno- pean Republic, when a Parthenopean Republic is an impos- sibility and we need not say that there is no such combiua- tion. But Mr. Disraeli is not proceeding without an authority, and he stated his authority last night though not very intelligibly. He said that he found the statement in "an English journal;" be should have said II an English penny journal." The report in fact was circulated by one of our penny contemporaries, by which it was borrowed from some Continental papers. Thin is Mr. Disraelis authority. Although he must have acquired the con- tempt to be expected from his political rank, for the whole tribe of gobcmouches, he bad not yet arrived at that frame of mipd in which gobemoucherie loses its power; he is still impressionable, and if be Beel a report in a penny paper, he still labours under the common notion that there must be something in it But what is that something ?" The straightforward course would have been for Mr- Disraeli to enter the House of Commons with the penny paper in his band, and to have said, I find such a statement here; I know it is not true; but come now, tell us all about it!" —though we admit that such a course would have been scarcely parliamentary. Mr. Disraeli, therefore, vamps up a stern accusation, in flle expectation if he can make the accusation dreadful enough, and if he can infuse into it any insinuation of an insulting character, the instinct of self-defance or of indignation will make the Minister accused blurt out whatever may be the fact. But practically the rule is this,—accuse the Foreign Office of attempting to stifle a new Parthenopean Republic in its birth, and in a burst of indignation at the unwarrantable charge, the Minister will tell us all that he is doing and has been doing in Italy. The idea is juvenile, but it is unquestion- ably an improvement in Mr. Disraeli's art of plot discovery. — Globe.

ExGListi SLirsLOP.—It is owing to the want of proper training in the laws of composition, that so few persons in England can write even a common letter correctly. We will give a familiar instance of a very frequent solecism which occurs in one of the most common acts of every-day life, the answer to a dinner-invitation; and it is one in which we are sorry to say that well-educated ladies are too often caught tripping. When Mr. A. and Mrs. A. request the pleasure of Mr. and Mrs. B's company atdinnfr," the reply usually is, "Mr. and Mrs. B. will have the pleasure of accepting" the invitation, but the acceptance is already un fait accompli by the very act of writing it; it is a present not a future event and the answer of course ought to be either Mr. and Mrs. B. have the pleasure of accepting," or "Mr. and Mrs. 13. will have the pleasure of dining. A NOVEL QVID PRO Quo.-Some few days ago a young lady, accompanied by her brother, whilst riding in an om- nibus from the City to the West-end, was struck with the appearance of one of her fellow-passengers, who besides being dressed in the height of fasiilQfN wore a magnificent diamond ring, a circumstance wliicii not unnaturally attracted the attention of the lady. On arriving at their journey's end the sister was very anxious to know tipm her brother whether lIe had noticed the pucudo gentleman wlth the magnificent ring. The circumstance, however, had escaped the brother's observation. In the course of the afternoon the lady, having occasion for her purse, which contained in the morning some £ 15, discovered, alas that it was gone, but in lieu thereof the identical diamond ring, worth 60 guineas, was left in its stead. There is no doubt that the diamond ring was the result of some previous robbery, but being too large for the thief's finger it slipped off while abstracting the purse from the lady's pocket. A LADY BuitNrD TO DEATH An accident of a most heartrending nature occurred at the residence of Mr. W. Robson, near Newcastle upon Tyne, on the evening of Wednesday last, which unhappily ended in the death of Mrs. Robson. It appears that on the evening in question the lamented deceased and her husband were alone in a small breakfast-room in the lower part of the house, and, as Mr. Robson was reading at the fire, Mrs. Robson, who was at- tired in a white muslin dress, passed between him and the fire-place, for the purpose of ringing the bell for one of the servants. After ringing the bell, and while standing with her back to the fire, the housemaid entered the appartment, and perceiving her mistress's dress to be on fire behind, uttered a loud shriek. Mr. Robson, whose attention was I immediately directed to the flames rising up behind, instantly attempted to throw her down, and wrap her up in a hearth- rug, but owing to the excitement of the unfortunate lady hit efforts proved ineffectual. After the flames had to some extent been got under the unfortunate lady was found tob? burnt to death.—Newcastle Jo• venal. MOTHER AND FOUR CHILDIVEN BURNT TO DEATH. A fire, involving the destruction of a large amount of property, and the loss of five Jives, happened about nine o'clock oil Tuesday night last. Tha scene of this catastrophe was No. 1, St. Mary's-terrace, Walworth-road, a millinery depot. The fire broke out shortly after the warehouse had been closed. On the fire being discovered, some one injudieionsly I broke open the door, which caused the flames to spread in every direction round the place, igniting room after room it rapid succession, and cutting off all escape for Mrs. Rayner and the four unfortunate children. Mrs. Rayner had previous- ly succeeded in bringing down one of her children, and she then returned, regardless of losing her own life, to endeavour to save the other four, but unfortunately the nearest escape was at the corner of the London-road, about a mile and a half distant. The moment the news reached the station the conductor started with the cscape, and arrived before an engine; he then found the flames belching forth from several of the windows, but he at once placed the machine between the burning premises and the adjoining house and ascended. Unfortunately, however, when he had got halfway up the flames rushed through another window and fired the escape from the top, and he had to descend. The engines, on their arrival, got to work under the able direction of Mr. R. Henderson, the district foreman, and Mr. Connorton, of the West of England; but the fire was not extinguished until the house was nearly burnt out. As soon as the ruins were cooled, engineers Flynn and Holloway dis- covered the mother and four children, burnt alniost to cin- ders. The remains were forthwith removed to the dead- house, to await an inquest. The cause of the fire is unknowiu- FOUL MCRDER.- On the evening of the 3d of February Mrs. Ward, wife of Return J. M. Ward. in Sylvania, disap- peared in a very mysterious manner. The ensuing morning her husband visited Mr. Allen's grocery in the village, and informed him that he and his wife were going away, and desired Mr. Allen to tell those who might wish to see him that he had left the place. On the Thursday following Ward again visited the grocery and had another conversation with Mr. Allen. He this time said that his wife had left him again. She had once, in oonsequence, as it is believed, of ill-treatment, left him for a brief period. Allen asked him. Wh -n did she leave ?" Ward replied, On Tues- day last. She took the car here, saying that she was going to California." Ward made this statemont to a number of the citizens, and it was so much at variance with his previous statement at Allen's that suspicions of foul play were immediately excited These suspicions were furthered by other circumstances, and it was determined that the affair should be thoroughly sifted. Ward was arrested and examined before Mr. Justice Clark. It was proved at the examination that Ward's last statement at Allen's was untrue, but the evidence was not sufficient to warrant the justice in committing him. Some of the citizens, however, were by no means satisfied of Ward's innocence, and they endeavoured to still more thoroughly solve the singular affair. They thoroughly searched Ward's premises, and found most indubitable evidence that the woman bad been foully murdered, and that her body had been burnt in her own house. In a pile of ashes near the house human bones were found,—an upper jaw, almost entire, and pieces of a skull. Two finger-rings were also found, which were re- cognized as those worn by Mrs. Ward. The citizens who made the search found abundant evidence, as they thought, that the effects of Mrs. Ward had beon all burnt. The lock of her trunk, pieces of dresses, hooks and eyes, and other articles were found. The citizens searched further. The bedclothes in the house had the appearance of having been recently washed. On opening the bolster and bed the feathers were found covered with blood. Blood was also found on a mat the upper part of the house. A minute search revealed traces of blood in other parts of the house. Whether the woman had been stabbed or shot they could not tell, but that she had been foully murdered and the corpse burnt they were satisfied, and at once proceeded to cause the second arrest of Ward. He was arrested and again exa- mined before Mr. Justice Clark, and was committed to the gaol in this city to await trial before the next term of the Court of Common Pleas for murder in the first degree. During Ward's trial the justice's office was crowded to suffocation, and the excitement is tremendous throughout the township. Ward is a tailor by trade. He has been mar- ried three times. He married the deceased in Adrian some time last summer, and carried her to Sylvania. We are told they did not live together pleasantly. Once, as before stated, the woman temporarily left him, in consequence, it was suppused, of bad treatment. Ward is about 40 years old, of medium height, thickset, and florid-faced, and his head is somewhat bald. We saw him in gaol yesterday he was lying on a rough bench, apparently in a deep sleep. Toronto Commercial. A MARRIAGE BROKER SUING THE KING OF SPAIN'S FATHER.- A month or six weeks past a sort of marriage agent, named Palet, who had negotiated the marriage of Queen Isabella with her present husband, summoned him for his guerdon for having carried the negociations to a suc- cessful issue. The King Consort refused to pay, alleging that he was not responsible. Senor Palet, the agent, therefore brought an action against the King's father, Don Francisco from whom he claims a very large sum, some say a million of reals, a portion of which be professes to have expended in the prosecution of his enterprise, the remainder he maintains to have been promised to him in the event of his effecting the marriage. DR. LiviNGSTO-The Life and Adventures of this remarkable Missionary and Explorer must needs be full of interest, and replete with incidents far more intense than any to be found in the wide range of novel literature, so true is it that in his case truth is stranger tban fiction," and more startling too. The reader will, therefore, be glad to hear that Dr. Livington's Life ant Adventures have now assumed a tangible form; and that Mr. H. G. Adams has been entrusted with the labour of love of seeing the good work through the press. The book is most profusely illustrated by Sargent, Wood, Harvey, Thomas, and other artists of celebrity; and tø price, 5s., places it within the reach of all classes. .? published by Houlston and Wright, 65, Paternoster .erg> London who are also now issuing in weekly numbers. price 3d. each, to be completed in ten '?'?'.t Songs of England" edited by Charles Mackay, the poet b 'I Book 0 of the people. Uniform with this char-i.fig Book of English Son?," also profusely illustI rat! d i, imd ? is6? ue4,, in weekly numbers, The Mormons, by Dr. Mackity. TheM books should Snd their way everywhere-