tion, and persons on the other requiring a £12 rating, some day or other this will create great discontent and a desire for the reduction of the county franchise. Great alarm has been expressed as to the number of votes which will be lost by a transfer; to show that this alarm is not warranted by the facts I will take a case that I happen to be well acquainted with. In South Hampshire the total number of electors is 5,677, of whom 2,858, or just one-half, derive their qualification from the represented towns within the county. Therefore, it does not at all follow that by the suggested transfer of the population you reduce the number of votes for the county to the extent that has been anticipated. I mention this because it is a point which attracted considerable attention, and is believed to have had much influence both with the Committee and subsequently with the House. Speaking of my Colleagues in the Royal Commission, I can assure you that nothing could exceed the industry, the honesty of pur pose, and the perfect absence of all party feeling which marked their conduct during the whole course of the inquiry committed to them. I am sure, therefore, that their finding merits the confidence of the country.

EARL BEAUCHAMP said, a noble Lord opposite (Earl Russell) had said something about his Motion being a surprise, and he thought that a charge so put forward ought to be met, as it deserved, with a distinct denial. Complaint had been also made as to shortness of Notice of the Amendments. What were the facts? The Boundary Bill was brought up from the other House on the 23rd of June, but was not delivered to Members till the 25th of June. That was on Thursday. He had not time to read the Bill and consider what course he should take until Saturday, the 27th; and Notice of his present Motion was given upon Monday. On Wednesday their Lordships did not sit; but after the Notice had lain before them for two days he now brought it forward. Hence it would be seen that he had acted with all proper caution. Had he given Notice sooner he should have been charged with precipitancy. To remove, however, any excuse for complaint, he now proposed to move the adjournment of the debate. He regretted that noble Lords opposed to this matter should so far have forgotten themselves and the dignity of that House as to bring forward a groundless and nonsensical VOL. CXCIII. [THIRD SERIES.]

charge, and then retire from the House without either supporting or discussing it.

THE EARL OF MALMESBURY thought his noble Friend acted very wisely in the course which he proposed to take. He had certainly been surprised at the grave charges brought on the authority of a forced construction put upon the words of the Prime Minister. Noble Lords on the other side of the House have with great ingenuity mis-stated the tenour of the Prime Minister's remarks when simply alluding to the course of Business in the House of Commons; it is perfectly impossible that the right hon. Gentleman could have intended to say any thing with a view to fetter your Lordships; and I state positively from my own knowledge, in the most solemn manner, that the Government never meant at the time the Prime Minister spoke to regard the Scotch Reform Bill or the Boundary Bill as settled; it is monstrous to charge his words with so incongruous a meaning, because no one knows better than he that, whatever influence he may have with your Lordships from his position, he has no absolute control over the actions of this House. I am very glad my noble Friend has taken the course he has, because no one could be more annoyed than myself at the suspicion of surprise; and perhaps when the noble Lords who should be opposite have returned to their places they will be prepared to admit that the observations of the Prime Minister applied alone to the House of Commons.

THE EARL OF LICHFIELD thought the only course open to their Lordships was to agree to an adjournment of the debate; for whatever had been done amiss, and whoever was blamable or free from blame, it would be most undesirable that the question should turn entirely upon an alleged breach of faith on the part of the Government. He could not help adding that if noble Lords on his side of the House had remained in their places, they would have better studied the dignity of the House than by running away.

House resumed; to be again in Committee on Monday next.

House adjourned at Nine o'clock, till To-morrow, half past Ten o'clock.

PUBLIC BILLS-Second Reading-Poor Law and Medical Inspectors (Ireland) * [183]; Fairs (Metropolis) [205].

Committee Registration (re-comm.) [190]; Clerks of the Peace, &c. (Ireland) [194]; Assignees of Marine Policies (re-comm.)* [203].

Report - Registration (re-comm.) [190]; Clerks of the peace, &c. (Ireland)* [194]; Assignees of Marine Policies (re-comm.)* [203]. Considered as amended· Land Writs Registration (Scotland) [111]; Burials (Ireland)* [204]. Third Reading Railway Companies (Ireland) Advances [177]; Drainage and Improvement of Lands (Ireland) Supplemental (No. 2) [195]; Turnpike Trusts Arrangements [200]; Revenue Officers Disabilities Removal* [76]; Bankruptcy Act (1861) Amendment * [145]; Libel (Ireland) [199], and passed. Withdrawn-Sea Fisheries (Ireland) * [101].

HIGH SHERIFF FOR THE EAST RIDING

OF YORKSHIRE.-QUESTION. ADMIRAL DUNCOMBE said, he would

beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, If he sees any objection to the appointment of a separate High Sheriff for the East Riding of the County of York; and, if he will take the subject into his consideration, with the view of remedying some of the inconveniences arising from there being one High Sheriff for the whole County?

MR. GATHORNE HARDY said, in reply, that there was no doubt considerable objection to the present state of things in that respect in the county of York. The High Sheriff had very onerous duties cast upon him, and perhaps there ought to be two High Sheriffs; but the matter would be considered by the Government.

TREATY OF COMMERCE WITH

AUSTRIA.-QUESTION.

MR. LAYARD said, he would beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether the Treaty of Commerce recently in negotiation with Austria has been signed; and, if not, why not; and, whether he will lay upon the Table of the House, the Reports of Mr. Morier and Mr. Mallet, and any other Correspondence relating to the negotiation for the Treaty?

MB. E. C. EGERTON said, in the absence of his noble Friend (Lord Stanley),

he could state that a telegram was on the previous day received at the Foreign Office from the British Ambassador at Vienna, stating that the Treaty had been signed on that very day. There would be no objection to lay on the table, not only the valuable Reports of Mr. Morier and Mr. Mallet, but also any other Correspondence relating to the subject.

MILITARY KNIGHTS OF WINDSOR.
QUESTION.

MR. EYKYN said, he would beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Whether he objects to lay upon the Table of the House, a Return of the Military Knights of Windsor deceased since the appointment of the late and the present Governor, the date of their de cease, the dates from which their successors received their pay, the amount of their deductions in pay, the mode in which the deductions were disposed of; also, a Return of all sums applied to the use of the late and present Governors of the Military Knights?

MR. GATHORNE HARDY, in reply, said, it was difficult to deal with a Ques

tion such as this, as he did not know what were the reasons given for the production of the Returns. He was not prepared to lay them upon the table, as he did not know for what purpose they were required. He had that day received a document from the Knights of Windsor deprecating any interference with them, and the mode in which the funds were adminis stating they were perfectly content with

tered.

PARISH MORTUARIES.-QUESTION.

MR. GODDARD said, he wished to ask the Vice President of the Committee of Council, Whether his attention has been directed to a paragraph emanating from the British Medical Journal, headed "The Dead among the Living," and to inquire whether it is in their power to enforce upon the London vestries the fulfilment of that Clause in the Sanitary Act with reference to providing Parish Mortuaries for the use of the poor inhabitants of the metropolis, which both the interests of the public health as well as the cause of suffering humanity, so urgently demands?

LORD ROBERT MONTAGU said, in reply, that no doubt the British Medical Journal was a publication of considerable influence and authority; but his attention

WORKSHOP REGULATION ACT (1867).

QUESTION.

MR. POWELL said, he would beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Whether he has reason to believe, from representations made to him by Factory Inspectors or otherwise, that local authorities fail to discharge the duty imposed upon them by Section 18 and other provisions of the Workshop Regulation Act, 1867, under which they are bound to enforce the Act; whether difficulties have arisen in cases where the local authority as described by the Act is "the Vestry or Select Vestry," and whether modifications of the Law are, in his judg. ment, there necessary, in order to invest the local authority with powers to carry out the Act and to raise the funds requisite for that purpose; and, if so, whether it be the intention of the Government to amend the Law during the present Session, with a view to render the local authority

more efficient in these cases?

MR. GATHORNE HARDY, in reply, said, he had not had any such applications made to him as his hon. Friend alluded to, nor had he received any notice of the existence of those difficulties, except from the hon. Member for Bradford (Mr. W. E. Forster), who had been kind enough to send him a letter that he had received on the subject. His attention had not been called to any defects in the present law; but the Inspectors in their next Reports would probably take notice of the matter. MR. W. E. FORSTER said, he wished to know whether the Inspectors were instructed to report upon it?

MR. GATHORNE HARDY said, that one of the Inspectors having been in town that day he had inquired of him, and he thought there would be Reports on the subject.

ARMY-ARTILLERY PRACTICE AT

PORTSMOUTH.-QUESTION.

MR. SERJEANT GASELEE said, he would beg to ask the Secretary of State for War, If his attention has been called

"The steamer Princess of Wales, belonging to the Port of Portsmouth and Ryde Steam Packet Company, left Southsea Pier on Thursday morning, at half-past nine o'clock, on her passage to Ryde. When opposite Fort Monckton a shot passed between the foremast and the jib stay, causing considerable consternation among the passengers, many of whom were so frightened that they laid down upon the deck. This occurrence will serve to show the immense amount of danger resulting from the shot practice at this fort, for if the shots had struck the vessel beneath the water line, the probability is that she would have been sunk, and that many lives would have been sacrificed ;"

and, if that statement be true, whether measures have been taken to prevent the recurrence of a practice so dangerous to the lives of Her Majesty's subjects? SIR JOHN PAKINGTON said, in reply, that as soon as the statement to which the question referred appeared in the newspapers, a communication was sent to the Assistant Adjutant General at Portsmouth, desiring him to inquire into and report upon the facts; and he now held in his hand the answer returned by Lieutenant Colonel Peel, which was as follows:

"Portsmouth, July 1.

"Sir,-In accordance with instructions received

in your telegram of this day's date, I have the honour to forward for the information of his Royal Highness Commanding-in-Chief the accompanying statements of Lieutenant Colonel Lovell, R.A., and Captain Girardot, R.A., the officers under whom the artillery practice from Fort Monckton was conducted on Thursday morning, the 25th of June, 1868. These officers both state most positively that no shot fired from Fort Monckton passed within 500 yards of any steamer during the practice. In consequence of the hour at which the telegram was received (5.20 p.m.) I have not been able to procure from the editor of the Hants Telegraph any information as to the source of the report contained in his newspaper, the office being closed. I understand that practice was also being carried on that morning from Her Majesty's ship Terrible, now laying at Spithead." Lieutenant Colonel Lovell wrote

"Fort Monckton, July 1, 1868. "Sir,-In reply to your memorandum of this day's date, requesting a full report upon a statement contained in the Hants Telegraph that ou Thursday, the 25th of June, that a shot from Fort Monckton passed between the foremast and jibstay of a Ryde steamer, I have the honour to state that I was superintending the practice carried on by Captain Girardot, R.A.'s battery on that date, and no shot fired on that morning passed within 800 yards of a Ryde steamer or any

other steamer, and I am at a loss to understand

what could have caused any report to such effect. I beg to forward a statement of Captain Girardot, R.A., commanding the battery."

Captain Girardot's statement was to this effect

"I was in command of No. 7 Battery, 6th Brigade, Royal Artillery, during the hours of gun practice, from 9.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. on Thursday last, the 25th of June. The firing was conducted under the superintendence of Lieutenant Colonel Lovell, R.A. The greatest precautions were taken to observe the orders regarding the distance of vessels passing from the range, and I most confidently state that no shot was fired when any steamer was within 500 yards of the range."

He could not allow that question to rest where it was. If the statement in the Hants Telegraph was a true one it was quite intolerable that the public should be exposed to such a danger. He should therefore make further inquiries in order to have the matter thoroughly sifted.

ARMY-EMPLOYMENT OF OLD

SOLDIERS.-QUESTION.

SIR HARRY VERNEY said, he would beg to ask the Secretary of State for War, Whether, referring to his opinion that it is desirable to give Government employment to deserving old soldiers, it is true that the custody of the Parks, hitherto under the park keepers, almost all old soldiers, is about to be taken from them and placed under the Metropolitan Police; and whether, if this alteration is considered necessary in Hyde Park, it must be carried out in the other Parks, where the park keepers have hitherto done their duty per fectly well, and the custody of which afforded employment, with a small remuneration, to many meritorious old soldiers?

SIR JOHN PAKINGTON said, in reply, that his hon. Friend had quite cor

POST OFFICE-MAILS TO THE WEST

INDIES.-QUESTION.

MR. GRAVES said, he wished to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, The cause of the delay in presenting the Correspondence [ordered 12th May] between the West India and Pacific Company and the Treasury and Post Office, relative to the conveyance of Mails to the West Indies?

MR. SCLATER-BOOTH said, in reply, that the cause of the delay had been that parts of the Correspondence had to be furnished by the Treasury and other parts by the Post Office. The whole of it was now in the hands of the printer, and it would be distributed to hon. Members in a few days.

EJECTMENTS SUSPENSION (IRELAND)

BILL.-QUESTION.

MR. KENNEDY said, he would beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury, Not to displace the Ejectments Suspension (Ireland) Bill, which stands No. 1 on the Orders of the Day for the Evening Sitting of Tuesday the 7th instant?

MR. DISRAELI said, he would not be unmindful of the hon. Gentleman's wish, but must frankly tell him that, desiring to bring the Business of the House forward at a reasonable time, he could not really pledge himself to comply with the hon. Gentleman's request.

pressed with respect to the employment of old soldiers; but his regard for old soldiers did not give him any authority over the Parks. He must refer his hon. Friend to the First Commissioner of Works for any information as to the future custody of the Parks.

SIR HARRY VERNEY said, he would therefore put his Question to the First Commissioner of Works.

LORD JOHN MANNERS said, it had been thought highly expedient for the public service that old soldiers should no longer be appointed as park keepers, and he hoped that before long every Royal Park would be placed in the custody of the Metropolitan Police.

CORRUPT PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS

BILL.-QUESTION.

MR. DARBY GRIFFITH said, he would beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury, Whether, considering the repeated personal pledges he has given to the House and the Country to take every means to pass a Bill for the repression of Corrupt Practices at Elections, he does not think it desirable so to arrange the Busi ness of the House as to give precedence to that Bill over others of an ordinary character, if he wishes to redeem the pledges he has made on the subject?

MR. DISRAELI: Sir, the hon. Gentleman has placed an argumentative Ques tion on the Paper, which is a very inconvenient course, and one that might lead to discussion. He wishes to know if we