sensational character. And I have no to promote the development of the rehesitation in saying that, judging by sources of that island, and to increase my own observation, it has been greatly its trade both with Great Britain and exaggerated, and does not truly repre- Egypt, and so frustrate its threatened sent what occurred on this occasion. I diversion to the Continent of Europe by hope that the House will think that I means of the facilities offered by the have fully and satisfactorily answered Austrian Lloyds Steam Navigation Comthe Questions. pany?

LAW AND JUSTICE-MURDER OF

POLICE CONSTABLE HINE AT FENNY

COMPTON.

OF

THE UNDER SECRETARY STATE (Mr. OSBORNE MORGAN): The weekly mail communication between Cyprus and Alexandria was discontinued MR. COBB asked the Secretary of at the end of 1884 because it cost this State for the Home Department, Whe- country £6,950 a-year, and only brought ther his attention has been called to the in about £150 a-year in postage. It murder of Police Constable Hine at lasted six and a-half years and involved Fenny Compton; and, whether the Go- the Imperial Post Office in a net total vernment will offer a reward for the ap-loss of about £48,000. The question of prehension of the murderer or murderers?

re-establishing weekly communication between Cyprus and Alexandria on more THE SECRETARY OF STATE (Mr. reasonable terms and the arguments in CHILDERS): No, Sir; my attention has favour of such communication were not been called officially to the murder brought before the late Board of the of this police-constable. It will be for Treasury by the late Colonial Secretary; the Local Authorities to move first in but the Board refused to sanction any such a matter. There are grave objec-measure being taken for the purpose, tions to a too liberal offer of Government rewards.

ARMY (INDIA)-INDIAN MILITARY

LEAVE.

MR. SHIRLEY asked the Under Secretary of State for India, Whether proposals were made by Lord Ripon's Indian Government, and agreed to by the India Office, to modify the Indian Military leave rules, and to arrange that in future all leave should count for pension; and, if so, what is the cause of the delay in communicating this decision to the officers concerned?

THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE (Sir UGHTRED KAY-SHUTTLEWORTH): I understand that the delay is caused by the difficulty of settling certain important points involved in a change in the military leave rules. The attention of the Secretary of State is being given to the subject.

POST OFFICE-MAILS BETWEEN

CYPRUS AND ALEXANDRIA.

MR. HOWARD VINCENT asked the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, Why the regular weekly mail communication between Cyprus and Alexandria was suspended; and, if Her Majesty's Government will consider the advisability of re-establishing it in order

and the present Board, having had the matter brought under their notice, adhered to that view. With regard to the latter part of the Question, I have as yet no information to justify the conclusion the Continent of Europe by means of that the trade of Cyprus is diverted to the facilities offered by the Austrian Lloyds Company, inasmuch as the imIsland and England continues to be port and export trade between that carried on through other channels. The direct trade of Cyprus with the United Kingdom never exceeded 31 per cent of the whole. For the last year of the subsidy it was 27 per cent.

EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY ACT — KIN

DRED LEGISLATION IN FOREIGN
COUNTRIES.

Under Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs, Whether he will ascertain at an
early date, through Her Majesty's Re-
presentatives, what legislation, if any,
akin to that of the Employers' Liability
Act and its proposed Extensions now
obtains in the countries of France, Ger-
many, Belgium, Holland, and the United
States of America, together with the
periods during which such legislation
has been in force?

MR. W. F. LAWRENCE asked the

THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE (Mr. BRYCE): The shortness of

time when a decision may be arrived at. I do not think it is a matter with which the Government can interfere by surrendering a portion of its time.

population of 424,000; of these 35,000 | Motion, and that it should come on at a are Whites, 27,000 Coolies, and 362,000 native Africans. The total number of electors is 6,730, but I am unable to say what proportion is to be assigned to each class of the population. In Jamaica, of a total population of 580,000 according to the Census of 1881, 14,000 are stated to be Whites, 110,000 Coloured, 444,000 Black; Indian Coolies number 11,000. The electors number 9,298, but, as in the case of Natal, they cannot be classified.

PARLIAMENT-PROCEDURE

QUESTIONS.

CAPTAIN VERNEY asked the First Lord of the Treasury, Whether he will at an early date move a Resolution embodying the suggestions with regard to Questions made yesterday by Mr. Speaker?

THE FIRST LORD (Mr. W. E. GLADSTONE): It will be the duty of the Government to take care that the suggestions which you, Sir, were good enough to make on this important question from the Chair shall be carefully considered by the Committee, and I have no doubt they will be considered. with all the respect that, coming from such a source, they must necessarily

command.

PUBLIC MEETINGS--SPEECH OF LORD

RANDOLPH CHURCHILL AT BEL

FAST.

MR. SEXTON: I beg to state that I do not intend to call attention to this question, except in such a manner and at such a time as will enable me to take the sense of the House upon it.

THE LAND LAWS-LEGISLATION. VISCOUNT EBRINGTON asked the First Lord of the Treasury, Whether the Government will introduce before Easter a Bill dealing with the registration, transfer, and devolution of land?

THE FIRST LORD (Mr. W. E. GLADSTONE): The whole question embraced in these particulars is under the careful consideration of the Lord Chancellor; but the Lord Chancellor is not able at this moment to say at what time he can introduce a Bill, nor has he yet determined whether he shall advise the Government to do so.

PARLIAMENT-ARRANGEMENT OF

BUSINESS.

LORD RANDOLPH CHURCHILL

asked the First Lord of the Treasury, What would be the Business on Monday after Supply was disposed of, and what would be the Business on Thursday?

THE FIRST LORD (Mr. W. E. GLADSTONE), in reply, said, that the Votes that remained to be taken would LORD RANDOLPH CHURCHILL probably occupy all Monday evening. asked the First Lord of the Treasury, On Thursday the new Civil Service EstiWhether he will arrange that the Mo- mates would be taken, and on the Montion of the honourable Member for day following he hoped the Navy EstiSligo, which he has put down as an mates would be taken. Amendment on going into Supply tonight, shall come on for early discussion?

THE FIRST LORD (Mr. W. E. GLADSTONE): Well, Sir, that is an addition to the Question which will be embraced in the answer I have to make. Looking to the state of the Paper, it is perfectly possible that the question may be raised to-night; but I am bound to say, having considered the question whether the Government time should be given for such a purpose, that, while I am very sensible of the motives which lead the noble Lord to desire, quite legitimately, I think, that an early opportunity should be taken to discuss the

ORDERS OF THE DAY.

"That, in the opinion of this House, no reform of the administration and organization of the Metropolitan Police Force will be satisfac

tory unless provision is made for such reform of the government of the Metropolis as will insure to representatives of the ratepayers of the Metropolis a direct control over their own police,"

it was to be trusted that not only would the administration and organization of the Metropolitan Police be investigated, but that it would also be thoroughly reformed. He had nothing to say against the conduct or behaviour of the ordinary police-constables; but he considered that among the superior officials of the Metropolitan Force there had long been, and still was, a grievous want of orga

said, he had to apologize for the necessity of bringing forward a Motion of that character in the House of Commons. The Metropolis, however, had no Re-nization and of attention to duty, as presentative Body, and they were there- well as of ability to know how to fulfil fore obliged to put many Questions to the duties imposed upon them. He Ministers and Notices on the Orders of trusted the inquiry to be made would be the Day which ought not to occupy the a complete and thorough one; that no time of this House, and which the House branch of the Force would be omitted, was not at all well-qualified to deal with. and that no scandal would be hushed In bringing forward that subject, he up. He refrained from commenting on would say at the outset there was very the condition of the police, because he little in the evidence taken by the late felt confident that an inquiry directed Committee of Inquiry that was not by the present Home Secretary would summed up in the Report. He had no be complete and exhaustive, for his right intention to give any Party complexion hon. Friend was new to the Office, and to the question he was raising; but he could not yet have fallen into the toils must say it seemed clear to him that of the officials. As to the composition there was one thing that was perhaps of the crowds in the gatherings that had made more clear by the evidence than occurred, wild statements had been it was by the Report, and that was that made. They heard very little about red his right hon. Friend the Secretary of flags being waved when the ConservaState for the Home Department (Mr. tive Party were in power, and they saw Childers) was not at all to blame for very little of them when the Liberal what had occurred in London on the 8th Party were in power, and, as representinstant. The right hon. Gentleman ing one of the most absolutely workpractically entered upon the duties of his ing-men constituencies in London, they Office on the Monday, and by midday he might allow him to say that he believed had done all that any other Home Se- that the working men of the Metropolis, cretary had done-namely, inquired if whether employed or unemployed, were the arrangements providing for possible as orderly and law-abiding, nay, were contingencies were complete and suffi as willing and able to share in the gocient. He had made what certainly vernment of this great Metropolis with seemed to be a rather perfunctory in- justice and success as any other portion quiry; but no further or more particular of the community. His Resolution was inquiry had generally been made by any so worded as not to reflect upon any Home Secretary in the experience of the person, and not even upon the police. late Chief Commissioner of the Force, There were two other points to which Colonel Henderson. It was stated that he wished to call the attention of the it was in the power of the Home Office House, and which were patent to everyto alter any arrangements that were one, from the Report. The first was, submitted by the Chief Commissioner; that there was no proper control over but, as a matter of fact, the Home Office the Police Force of London, for the Home never did so. That might be an unfor- Office exercised a most inefficient and tunate condition of circumstances; it superficial control over it, and the only might be an error, or it might not; but way in which the Home Office could if it was it was one of system, and was exercise a control, which was anything not to be charged on the Home Secre- but the control of permanent officials, tary, who had been only two hours at was through, and by, the inquiry and the Office. The evidence showed conclu- authority of the House of Commons. sively that there was a great want of The other point was, that the House of efficiency in the direction and organiza- Commons was loaded with the responsition of the Police Force in London; and bility of what he might call being the

Mr. James Stuart

The

of the situation; and it was time that those on his side of the House showed that they had sufficient confidence in the people of London to allow them to have the control of their police. In conclusion, he begged to move the Resolution that stood in his name.

MR. CREMER seconded the Resolution.

Amendment proposed,

To leave out from the word "That" to the

end of the Question, in order to add the words "in the opinion of this House, no reform of the administration and organization of the Metropolitan Police Force will be satisfactory unless provision is made for such reform of the government of the Metropolis as will insure to representatives of the ratepayers of the Metropolis a direct control over their own police,"Mr. James Stuart,)

instead thereof.

Question proposed, "That the words proposed to be left out stand part of the Question."

Vestry for London. They had that day | command of the police were the masters been occupied, and had frequently been occupied before, as they might be in the future, with business that ought to fall upon the Vestry, or Municipality, or mere Watch Committee of London, and that, to a very great extent, to the detriment of Imperial interests. He thought it was a shame that that House, which had for its primary duty the consideration of those interests, should be required to fulfil the duties of a Watch Committee for London, as it was called upon to do in the present case. London Police were paid for by the ratepayers of the Metropolis in as large, or even larger, a degree than in any large town in England, and yet there was not a shadow of control exercised over them except by the authority of the House of Commons, which he, for one, could not look upon as being in any way efficient for the purpose. He could not for a moment conceive how it could be expected that Members of that House, who came from all parts of the country, should understand the affairs of the Metropolis, of which many Members who lived in it themselves were absolutely ignorant, or how they could be thought to be efficient controllers of the police of London. On the contrary, it frequently happened that the consequence of the absence of municipal control over the police was, that whenever a riot or disturbance occurred it was always made use of as a stick to wallop the Party in power, and thus a political aspect was given to the occurrence which it had no right to assume. This question of the control of the police was really a part of the great question of the government of the Metropolis, and it was high time for that, if for no other reason, that the House had brought before it by the Government in power some proper and feasible scheme for the government and regulation of the affairs of the Metropolis. But for the intimation given by the Government a few nights ago, he should have given a wider scope to his Motion. He protested against the control exercised by the Home Offie over the police; and he hoped an effort would at length be made to place the citizens of London in possession of the control of their police, which was the greatest guarantee for good order and security. In a vast centre of population those who held the

LORD ALGERNON PERCY said, he trusted the House would not adopt the Resolution of the hon. Member for Shoreditch (Mr. James Stuart). The hon. Member occupied a considerable time in telling the House that he was not going to do so, and then proceeded to make a speech on the government of London; but he did not advance one single argument in support of the great change he advocated, nor did he offer any proof that, if the control of the police were in the hands of the Local Authorities, or in the hands of a single Municipality of the Metropolis, instead of the Home Office, the riots would not have taken place. He believed himself that if that had been the case, the riots would have been worse. At the same time, he blamed the Home Office for what occurred, though he did not make an attack upon the present Home Secretary, who had held Office too short a time to be responsible for the riots. It could not be said that the police was anything but efficient; indeed, in his opinion, it was a most able and efficient force. It was true that, on the occasion of these riots, there was a miscarriage; but he contended that it was due rather to particular and accidental circumstances than to the fault of the police. The hon. Member for Shoreditch had stated that the House should only be occupied with questions of national importance; but