now prepared with a scheme for relieving | which is now the subject of arbitration. certificated teachers from the large I believe he acted on his own responamount of compulsory and unremune- sibility; but so far as the accounts rated clerical labour imposed upon them by the Revised Code? MR. WHITBREAD (for Mr. JAMES) asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Whether he can inform the House when the Arbitration on the subject of the boundary between the Transvaal and Zululand will be completed; and, whether it is true that Colonel Wood crossed the disputed territory with a military force before the question of ownership had been settled? which have yet reached me enable me to judge, I do not see how he could have taken any other course consistently with his duty. THE RAILWAY COMMISSION- LEGIS LATION.-QUESTION. MR. D. TAYLOR asked the President of the Board of Trade, If it is the intention of Government to increase the powers of the Railway Commission as suggested in the Report of the Royal Commission on Railway Accidents, and recommended by the Chambers of Commerce ? VISCOUNT SANDON: As I informed the House last Session, it is the intention of the Government to introduce a Bill next year for continuing the Railway Commission. I am giving my most careful consideration to the subject; but I must beg leave to be excused from stating what will be the provisions of the intended Bill until we bring the measure itself before the notice of Parliament. ROYAL HIBERNIAN MILITARY SCHOOL (DUBLIN)-QUESTION. MAJOR O'BEIRNE asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland, Why the appointment of Commandant of the Royal Hibernian Military School, Dublin, is not subject to the five years' rule, this appointment being hitherto filled by an Officer of the Army unattached; and, is it to be understood, from a statement recently made in the "Irish Times" the Irish Board of Works is to be transnewspaper, that the present Chairman of ferred to the Command of the Royal Hibernian Military School? SIR MICHAEL HICKS - BEACH : The subject which is generally known as the boundary dispute between the Transvaal and Zululand was referred to three Commissioners, appointed by Sir Henry Bulwer, who were directed to hold an inquiry on the spot and report the facts of the case, but not to make any award or arbitration with respect to it. Their Report was sent to Sir Bartle Frere, who is now in Natal, the principal object of his visit there being to arrive at a decision upon this matter; and I understand that he has already informed Cetywayo that he is prepared MR. J. LOWTHER: Mr. Speakerto communicate that decision to him. I Neither of the posts to which the hon. and gallant Gentleman refers are in the gift or under the control of the Irish Government. I had not myself prethat which the hon. and gallant Member viously heard any rumour similar to mentions, and I cannot say if there is any truth in it. : believe that the action taken by Colonel Wood was to the following effect:The settlers at Luneburg, a place north of the Pongolo River, to which it does not appear that the Zulu King has any right whatever, and which is outside the disputed territory inquired into by the Boundary Commission, were reported to have received notice to quit their farms from a Zulu Chief. Colonel Wood took a small body of Her Majesty's troops to Luneberg for their protection, and in doing so may have crossed the territory JAPAN-CASE OF JOHN HARTLEY. MR. MARK STEWART asked the TURKEY-RUMOURED ANGLO. TURKISH CONVENTION.-QUESTION. Affairs, Whether the Report from Sir| Harry Parkes, our Minister in Japan, in reference to Mr. Wilkinson's judgments in the case of John Hartley, accused on two occasions of smuggling opium into Japan, has been received; whether the judgment is confirmed or reversed; and, whether the Papers will be laid upon the Table of the House at this time? MR. BOURKE, in reply, said, the Report had been received at the Foreign Office. The Foreign Office had no power to confirm or reverse the judgment. He did not believe there would be any public advantage in producing the Papers. EGYPT-THE COMMISSIONERS OF THE DAIRA LANDS.-QUESTION. MR. B. SAMUELSON asked Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Whether he will lay upon the Table of the House any Papers showing the agreement between this Country and the Khedive of Egypt which enabled the Marquis of Salisbury, in his Letter to Lord Lyons of 24th October 1878 (Papers, Egypt, No. 2, 1878), to state that the person nominated by Her Majesty's Government as one of the Commissioners of the Daira Lands shall not be divested of his functions without their previous consent? THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER: There would be no objection to the production of these Papers when the Correspondence is complete, which it is not quite at the present moment. When it is the hon. Member can have them by moving. MR. DILLWYN: I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer a Question, of which I have given him private Notice, Whether there is any foundation whatever for the report of a new AngloTurkish Convention? I would not have asked this Question if it were merely a rumour; but I am aware of the fact that the report is believed in foreign Embassies. THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHÈQUER: There is no truth in the report, except, of course, so far as it may relate to the negotiations that have been going on with regard to the arrangements to be made in relation to Cyprus. SOUTH AFRICA-THE ZULU KING. QUESTIONS. MR. COURTNEY asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Whether there was any truth in the statement made in a Reuter's telegram, published that morning, to the effect that Sir Bartle Frere had addressed an ultimatum to the King of the Zulus; and, if so, whether the right hon. Gentleman could give any information as to the nature of that ultimatum ? MR. WHITWELL asked, If there was no truth in the report, what were the present relations between the King of the Zulus and the Government of South Africa? SIR MICHAEL HICKS - BEACH: The present state of our relations with the Zulus is undoubtedly threatening, but not, I hope, quite of the nature that might be assumed from the telegram which has been referred to by the hon. Member. The last telegram which I received from Sir Bartle Frere was as follows, dated November 19: "We have desired Cetywayo to summon his councillors and send proper persons to receive the award regarding the disputed territory, and further communications regarding our future relations." 859 H.R.H. The Grand Duchess {COMMONS} issue; but this, of course, greatly depends on the disposition of the Zulu King. ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS-THE DEAN OF ARCHES.-QUESTION. MR. NEWDEGATE asked Mr. Attorney General, Whether it was the intention of Her Majesty's Ministers to propose, after the adjournment for Christmas, any measure for reconciling the conflict of jurisdiction which has arisen between the Court over which Lord Penzance presided, the Court of Queen's Bench, and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council? THE ATTORNEY GENERAL (Sir JOHN HOLKER): The Court of Queen's Bench has, I understand, power to grant a prohibition such as that which has recently been issued by that Court. That prohibition is, I understand, to be brought before the Court of Appeal; and until the point has been decided it will not be necessary for the Government to take any proceedings in regard to it. MOTIONS. HER ROYAL HIGHNESS THE GRAND DUCHESS OF HESSE (PRINCESS ALICE). ADDRESS OF CONDOLENCE. THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER: Sir, since we last met a great sorrow has fallen on the Queen and on the country, and I am sure I express the universal sentiment of this House when I propose that we should join in an Address of Condolence to Her Majesty on the lamented death of the Grand Duchess of Hesse-our Princess Alice. Sir, it has been, and is, the habit of this House to sympathize and to express sympathy with Her Majesty on all occasions of domestic joy or sorrow. There are, I do not doubt, many hereI know there are some-who can remember the Address of Congratulation on the birth of Princess Alice, and the Address of Congratulation on her happy marriage. Now, alas! it falls to me to ask for an Address of Condolence on her decease. I feel it would be superfluous -indeed, presumptuous-on my part to speak of one so well known to us all, of Hesse (Princess Alice). 860 and so highly appreciated for the nobleness, tenderness, and true womanliness of her character. At the same time, one can hardly avoid lingering for a moment on the recollection of one whose life has been cut short so early, and, looking at human considerations, one would say so prematurely. Apart altogether from her Royal birth and her exalted station, Princess Alice had qualities to command love and admiration-whether we think of her as a daughter ministering at the dying bed of her father, as a sister exerting herself as a careful, affectionate, and skilful nurse to her brother when he lay almost at the point of death, as a tender mother who may be said to have sacrificed her life in her affectionate care of her own children, or whether we recall the time when she came forward to alleviate the sufferings of the sick and wounded of her adopted country. We remember how every English heart throbbed to know that these noble deeds were done by a daughter of England. Whatever may be the capacity in which we recognize that combination of qualities that combination of warmth of heart, soundness of judgment, and practical energy which go to make up the type of a perfect woman-we feel that she is to be lamented for the sake of those she has left behind, especially in her own family, where we see that strong instinct of domestic affection which endears them so much to the people of this country. Most of all do we lament her death because of the blow that has fallen on the Queen. This is the first great domestic sorrow that has come upon Her Majesty since, 17 years ago, and on the same day, that one great blow of her life was given. We feel that before such a sorrow it is almost impossible to speak; and yet we know that words of sympathy are most valuable, and that by no one is the power of sympathy more valued than by Her Majesty, for we have her own example to show that no calamity falls upon any portion of her people but she is the first, by kindly words and kindly message, to manifest her own sympathy. I feel convinced the House will unanimously agree to an Address which will testify at once our personal affection for the Sovereign, our deep sorrow for her loss, and our earnest prayer that God may support her in her affliction. I beg to move an "That an humble Address be presented to Her | faithful reflection of the feelings which Majesty, to express the deep concern of this exist throughout the country. House at the great loss which Her Majesty has sustained by the death of Her Royal Highness the Grand Duchess of Hesse, Princess Alice of Great Britain and Ireland, second daughter of Her Majesty the Queen, and to condole with Her Majesty on this melancholy occasion; to assure Her Majesty that this House will ever feel the warmest interest in whatever concerns Her Majesty's domestic Relations; and to declare the ardent wishes of this House for the happiness of Her Majesty and of Her Family." THE MARQUESS OF HARTINGTON: Sir, I rise to second the Address which has been proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and to say I feel that every man in this House will agree with every word that has fallen from the right hon. Gentleman. There is no need of many words on such an occasion as this. The English people, I believe, feel deeply; but they are not prone to express their emotions loudly. There is something very grand and touching when an emotion either of joy or sorrow spreads itself over a whole people-when those deep and tender feelings which are excited by the events of human life, but which are generally and necessarily restricted within a narrow circle, extend to the utmost limits of a great Empire. Her Majesty and her children may be assured that when they rejoice, or when they mourn, the people of this country rejoice and mourn with them. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has referred to that time, 17 years ago, when the first great calamity afflicted the Royal Family. Most of us can remember how at that time every man felt that he had suffered, not only a public, but a private sorrow. A few years later, as the Chancellor of the Exchequer has also reminded us, the whole nation watched, as it were, by the sick bed of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. The memory of Her Royal Highness Princess Alice will always be associated with the recollection of these periods of mourning and suspense; and the devotion she showed as a daughter and a sister will never be forgotten by the people of this country. Sir, we do not desire to intrude on the grief of Her Majesty and the Royal Family; but if sympathy under such circumstances as the present be any consolation, Her Majesty may rest assured that the sentiments which are expressed in this Address are but the Resolved, Nemine Contradicente, That humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, to express the deep concern of this House at the great loss which Her Majesty has sustained by the death of Her Royal Highness the Grand Duchess of Hesse, Princess Alice of Great Britain and Ireland, second daughter of Her Majesty the Queen, and to condole with Her Majesty on this melancholy occasion. To assure Her Majesty that this House will ever feel the warmest interest in whatever concerns Her Majesty's domestic Relations; and to declare the ardent wishes of this House for the happiness of Her Majesty and of Her Family. To be presented by Privy Councillors. THE RHODOPE COMMISSION. WITHDRAWAL OF NOTICE. THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER: I have now, Sir, to move that the Orders of the Day be postponed until after the Notice of Motion relating to the Expenses of the Military Operations in Afghanistan; and in making that Motion, which is but a formal one, I wish to take advantage of the opportunity to offer a few words of explanation with regard to a Notice I gave on Friday night, for the House to go into Committee of Supply for the purpose of granting a sum of money in aid of the sufferers in the Rhodope district. I need not detain the House by entering into any account of the circumstances which led to the appointment of the Rhodope Commission, or of the circumstances in which not one Report, but four identical Reports, were presented by four different Members of the Commission. In the circumstances in which those Reports were presented it was impossible for us, as I have stated to the House before, to take any political action without very serious consideration. I have also stated to the House on a previous occasion that, considering that those Reports concurred in representing the distress as very severe and beyond the reach of the charity either of private persons or of the Turkish Government, it had been recommended that some assistance should be given, and it was in contemplation by Her Majesty's Government to take steps, in communication with foreign Governments, for acting upon that suggestion in the Report. In order to do anything of that kind it was necessary to apply for the sanction of the House; | other Business than that which related but the Notice I gave on Friday has to the war which had broken out in Afcertainly produced a response which, ghanistan. But extraordinary as that though it has not been given in any announcement was, a still more extraformal manner, is sufficient to show ordinary one has been made this evening. that there would be very considerable We are informed by the Chancellor of difference of opinion on the subject. the Exchequer that the Government This, we think, is not a Vote which have had under their serious consideraought to be proposed if it is not to be tion the Reports of the Rhodope Comgenerally accepted. Under these cir- mission, and that, having given them cumstances, Her Majesty's Government that serious consideration, they had have suspended their communications resolved to make a proposal to Parliawith foreign Powers on this subject; ment. The Chancellor of the Exchequer and it is not my intention to move that has also informed us that Her Majesty's Vote. With regard to the position in Government have entered into comwhich the House now stands, I do not munications with foreign Powers on the know how long the discussion upon my subject. Now, I think we may be inhon. Friend's (Mr. E. Stanhope's) Motion, formed, at all events, whether it was the and the Amendment of the hon. Member intention of Her Majesty's Government for Hackney (Mr. Fawcett), is likely to to make this proposition to the House occupy. I am quite aware that there without giving them some informationare many Gentlemen who take a great for we have received none as yet-as to interest in the subject who wish to ad- the nature of these communications with dress the House, and I do not know foreign Powers and the answers which whether it will be possible to close the have been received from those foreign debate this evening. If it should be, I Powers? But, Sir, what is the reason hope the House will agree that after the that is given for the withdrawal of this debate is so closed, I should be allowed Vote? It has been, as I have said, to move the adjournment for the Re- under the serious consideration of Her cess. If that should not be the case, and Majesty's Government; but on account if the debate should be adjourned, then of something that they have heard in I shall give Notice to-night that to- the Lobby of this House, or some paramorrow at the opening I shall move the graphs which they have read in the adjournment. I should propose either newspapers, they have arrived suddenly to-night or to-morrow that the House, at at the conclusion that their serious its rising, do adjourn till Thursday, the consideration is altogether misplaced, 13th of February. and that the proposal should not be made. Sir, I do not think that I ever recollect an instance of a very grave and serious proposal being made so deliberately and being withdrawn with so much haste. I do think it is unfortunate that the withdrawal has taken place in a form which gives Parliament no opportunity of expressing an opinion on the conduct of the Government. I think the House is entitled to know whether the proposition is entirely abandoned, or whether it is merely suspended until further communications have been made with foreign Powers, or until some other temper be found to prevail in the public mind? I think that a little more explanation than has yet been vouchsafed to the House on this subject is required; and that we ought to make some protest against a proposal which is brought forward after serious consideration on one day being withdrawn, without any reason assigned, on the next, THE MARQUESS OF HARTINGTON: Sir, the unexpected and extraordinary announcement that has just been made renders it, I think, necessary that one or two remarks should be made upon the statement of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, although I must say that I did not come down to the House with the slightest expectation that it would be necessary to take any course of this kind. My hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow (Mr. Anderson) characterized the other day the Notice which was given by the Chancellor of the Exchequer relating to the proposal for a grant in relief of the distress in the Rhodope district as "extraordinary." No doubt it did take the House greatly by surprise, especially after the fact that an announcement had been made a short time since by the Chancellor of the Exchequer that the House should not, during this period of the Session, be asked to consider any |