HANSARD'S PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES, IN THE THIRD SESSION OF THE NINETEENTH PARLIAMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND HER MAJESTY QUEEN VICTORIA. THE FIRST VOLUME OF THE SESSION. HOUSE OF LORDS, Tuesday, November 19, 1867. HE PARLIAMENT, which had been Prorogued successively from the 21st day of August to the 6th day of November, and thence to the 19th day of November, met this day for Despatch of Business. The Session of PARLIAMENT was opened by Commission. The HOUSE OF PEERS being met, THE LORD CHANCELLOR acquainted the House, "That Her. Majesty, not thinking fit to be personally present here this day, had been pleased to cause a Commission to be issued under the Great Seal, in order to the opening and holding of this Parliament." VOL. CXC. [THIRD SERIES.] Then Five of the Lords Commissioners, namely The LORD CHANCELLOR, The LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL (The Duke of Marlborough), The LORD PRIVY of Buckingham (The SECRETARY OF STATE SEAL (The Earl of Malmesbury), The Duke FOR THE COLONIES) and The Earl of Cadogan, being in their Robes, and seated on a Form placed between the Throne and the Woolsack, commanded the Yeoman Usher of the Black Rod to let the Commons know "The Lords Commissioners desire their immediate Attendance in this House, to hear the Commission read." Who being come, with their Speaker; "HER MAJESTY not thinking fit to be present here this day in Her Royal Person, hath been pleased, in order to the B opening and holding of this Parliament, "A BAND of Italian Volunteers, to cause Letters Patent to be issued without Authority from their own Sounder Her Great Seal, constituting us and several other Lords therein named Her Commissioners, to do all things, in Her Majesty's name, on Her part necessary to be performed in this Parlia ment: This will more fully appear by the Letters Patent themselves, which must now be read." vereign, having invaded the Papal Territory, and threatened Rome itself, The Emperor of the French felt Himself called upon to despatch an Expedition for the Protection of the Sovereign Pontiff and his Dominions; that Then the said Letters Patent were read Object having been accomplished, and by the Clerk. And then THE LORD CHANCELLOR said My Lords, and Gentlemen, "IN again applying to you for your Advice and Assistance, I regret that I have found it necessary to call for your Attendance at an unusual, and probably to many of you an incon venient Season. the Defeat and Dispersion of the Volunteer Force having relieved the Papal Territory from the Danger of external Invasion, I trust that His Imperial Majesty will find Himself enabled by an early Withdrawal of His Troops, to remove any possible Ground of Misunderstanding between His Majesty's Government and that of The King of Italy. Violence and Assassination. These "THE Sovereign of Abyssinia, in violation of all international Law, "THE treasonable Conspiracy comcontinues to hold in captivity several monly known as Fenianism, baffled of My Subjects, some of whom have and repressed in Ireland, has assumed been especially accredited to him by in England the Form of organized Myself, and his persistent Disregard of friendly Representations has left Me no Alternative but that of making a peremptory Demand for the Liberation of My Subjects, and supporting it by an adequate Force. "I HAVE accordingly directed an Expedition to be sent for that Purpose alone, and I confidently rely upon the Support and Co-operation of My Parliament in My Endeavour at once to relieve their Countrymen from an unjust Imprisonment, and to vindicate the Honour of My Crown. "I HAVE directed that Papers on the Subject shall be forthwith laid before you. Outrages require to be rigorously put down; and I rely for their effectual Suppression upon the firm Administration of the Law, and the Loyalty of the great Mass of My Subjects. Gentlemen of the House of "THE Estimates for the ensuing Year are in course of Preparation, and will in due Time be laid before you. They will be framed with a view to Economy and to the necessary Requirements of the Public Service. My Lords, and Gentlemen, "As a necessary Sequel to the Legis "I RECEIVE from all Foreign Powers Assurances of their friendlylation of the last Session, Bills will be Feelings, and I see no Reason to apprehend the Disturbance of the general laid before you for amending the Representation of the People in Scotland "I HAVE Reason to believe that the under the Pressure of more urgent Commissioners appointed to inquire Business, will be submitted for your into and report upon the Boundaries Consideration. of existing Boroughs, as well as of the proposed Divisions of Counties and newly-enfranchised Boroughs, have made considerable Progress in their Inquiries, and no Time will be lost after the Receipt of their Report in laying before you their Recommendations for your Consideration and Decision. "A BILL will also be presented to you for the more effectual Prevention of Bribery and Corruption at Elections. "THE Public Schools Bill, which has already been more than once submitted to Parliament, will again be laid before you. "OTHER Questions apparently calling for legislative Action have been referred to Commissioners, whose Reports, as they shall be received, shall, without Delay, be laid before Parliament: "IT is My earnest Prayer that all your Deliberations may be so guided as to conduce to the general Contentment and Happiness of My People." Then the COMMONS withdrew. ROLL OF THE LORDS-Garter King of Arms attending, delivered at the Table (in the usual Manner) a List of the Lords Temporal in the Third Session of the Nineteenth Parliament of the United Kingdom: The same was Ordered to lie on the Table. "THE general Question of the Education of the People requires your most serious Attention, and I have no Doubt you will approach the Subject with a full Appreciation both of its vital Importance and of its acknow-livered (on Oath), and Certificate read. ledged Difficulty. REPRESENTATIVE PEERS FOR IRELANDWrits and Returns electing the Earl Annesley a Representative Peer for Ireland in the Room of the late Earl of Mayo, with the Certificate of the Clerk of the Crown in Ireland annexed thereto : De "MEASURES will be submitted to you during the present Session for amending and consolidating the various Acts relating to the Mercantile Marine. The Lord Colchester-Sat first in Parliament after the Death of his Father. SELECT VESTRIES. Bill, pro forma, read 1a. THE LORDS COMMISSIONERS SPEECH having been reported by The LORD CHANCELLOR ;— "THE Exemption which the Country has now for some Time enjoyed ADDRESS TO HER MAJESTY ON THE from the Cattle Plague affords a favourable Opportunity for considering such permanent Enactments as may relieve the Home Trade from vexa tious Restrictions, and facilitate the Introduction, under due Regulation, of Foreign Cattle for Home Consump-may commit, or any short-comings on my tion. "MEASURES for the Amendment of the Law, which have been deferred LORDS COMMISSIONERS' SPEECH. EARL BROWNLOW: My Lords, in rising to move an Address to Her Majesty, in answer to Her Majesty's most gracious Speech, I must not omit to claim the kind indulgence of your Lordships for one of its youngest and most inexperienced Members; and I trust that the errors that I part, may be kindly attributed to want of experience and of knowledge of the ways of your Lordships' House. My Lords, Her Majesty has been gra ciously pleased, in the Speech from the Throne, to bring before the attention of the House several most important matters. The first in order and I think that I am right in saying the first in importance is the Abyssinian Expedition. It comes home to the heart of every Englishman 'to feel that a number of our fellow-countrymen are languishing far from their country and their homes in the prisons of a half-civilized barbarian. I do not desire to follow minutely the ramifications of the Abyssinian question; but, at the same time, I feel that it is necessary for me to go back as far as the mission of Mr. Rassam. After the seizure of Consul Cameron and other prisoners, Mr. Rassam was sent to Abyssinia with a letter from Her Majesty, requesting the release of the captives. At first Mr. Rassam was exceedingly well received, and the captives were at one time actually delivered over to him. The King, however, expressed a wish, before the captives started on their homeward journey, that he should be reconciled to them; and for this purpose he sent for them to the Royal camp, when an apparent reconciliation between them and the King took place. The captives then returned to Magdala to await the approach of the season fittest for them to commence their homeward journey. At length, when the long wished-for time arrived, the captives started on their homeward journey to Massowah, and Mr. Rassam passed over with his suite to take leave of the King. On his arrival, he was asked by the King what had become of the prisoners? and he replied that they had started on their homeward journey. Upon this the King once more expressed his wish to be reconciled to the prisoners, and directed them to be again brought before him. They were for this purpose re-captured, put in chains, and brought before the King, when the form of reconciliation was gone through the second time. Shortly after, however, the King informed Mr. Rassam that he intended to detain them prisoners until the workmen and artizans he had asked for to instruct his people should arrive from England. Mr. Rassam was compelled to write a despatch to this effect; and the King sent one of the prisoners (Mr. Flad) to be the bearer of the letter to England. Such was the state of affairs when the present Government came into office. Mr. Flad returned to England with this letter, and a number of workmen and artizans were engaged to proceed to Abyssinia, under the charge of Colonel Merewether, who proceeded with them. Colonel Merewether, on arriving at Massowah with the artizans, refused very properly to allow them to go up the country, and be thus placed in the hands of the King, before the prisoners were released. and therefore he established them at a place near Massowah until he could obtain further information. Colonel Merewether sent a message to the King informing him that the presents from Her Majesty and the artizans had arrived, but that they would not be forwarded until the prisoners were released. The King, in reply, wrote to Colonel Merewether requesting that the presents and the artizans might be immediately forwarded to him, but he did not in any way refer to the release of the captives. Colonel Merewether, therefore, wrote to the King again, informing him that the presents and the workmen could not be permitted to proceed up the country until after the liberation of the prisoners. No notice having been taken of this communication, the noble Lord at the head of Foreign Affairs wrote a letter to King Theodore, expressing the great disappointment of Her Majesty that the prisoners had not been liberated, and informing him that if their release did not take place within three months he would forfeit Her Majesty's friendship. At a later date, the noble Lord at the head of Foreign Affairs again wrote to the King of Abyssinia, informing him that we had resolved, if necessary, to resort to force in order to procure the release of the captives. Your Lordships will perceive, from the statement I have made, that there has been no desire on the part of Her Majesty's Government to bring on a war with unnecessary rapidity; that before they resolved to use force they had exhausted every peaceable means in order to procure the release of the prisoners. Letters were written and presents were sent without avail, and it was only when every peaceable means had failed that it became necessary for Her Majesty's Government to vindicate the honour of the country by demanding by force that which King Theodore had refused to concede to peaceable means-the release of the prisoners. It was considered necessary, by competent judges, that Indian troops should be employed upon this campaign; but as Parliament was not then sitting, it was impossible to obtain the sanction necessary for the employment of Indian troops upon In foreign service. Under these circum- the people. The question of education is stances, Her Majesty's Government took no doubt one of great importance. upon themselves the responsibility of Ireland there is now a Commission at work adopting active measures, trusting that at inquiring into the subject, and has prothe earliest opportunity Parliament would ceeded to some extent in its labours. In give their approbation to those active mea- the interim, however, the subject is so sures which they deemed it absolutely vast that I cannot help thinking there is necessary for them to pursue. an enormous amount of statistical information which will have to be obtained before we can deal satisfactorily with the question. My Lords, the friendly relations of this country with foreign Powers is necessarily a source of national gratification. The wise and careful policy of the noble Lord at the head of Foreign Affairs has placed this country in such a position that at no time in its history has the friendship and goodwill of England been more earnestly desired than it is at the present moment. Not only are we at peace with the great Powers of Europe, but they are happily at peace with one another. Some of those great Powers having passed through a short though sanguinary war, are now resting upon their arms, and I heartily trust that this calm will be a lasting one. Some interruption has, no doubt, been caused to the peace of Europe by an attempt on the part of a band organized in Italy, who have, acting totally without the authority of their Sovereign, entered the Papal States; but His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of the French, by a prompt expedition and by allowing the French troops to act in concert with the Papal army, has been enabled, after fighting only one battle, to restore tranquillity to that part of Europe. My Lords, the treasonable conspiracy, which is commonly known as Fenianism, born in a far-off country and nurtured in Ireland, has unhappily of late spread to some few districts in England where its appearance has been characterized by wicked and blood-thirsty outrages; but it is gratifying to find that in no single instance have the English people exhibited the slightest sympathy with Fenianism. It is therefore to be hoped, my Lords, that no extraordinary measures will have to be resorted to to put down attempts of so very vague and isolated a character. My Lords, after the great measure of Reform passed during the late Session of Parliament for this country, it no doubt becomes necessary to bring in Bills to amend the representation of the people in other parts of the United Kingdom. This is the necessary sequel of the great measure passed last Session. The attention of the House is earnestly called by Her Majesty to a measure for the education of My Lords, it is a matter of great congratulation to this country that the cattle plague which had so long prevailed has at length subsided. The cattle trade of this country has, of necessity, been greatly trammelled and hampered by the unavoidable checks which have been imposed. Now, however, the disease has died out, and with its disappearance there is every hope that these impediments may be removed. The removal of such impediments will be of the greatest possible service and advantage to the country. Such, my Lords, are the important matters to which Her Majesty has called the attention of this House in the gracious Speech from the Throne. My Lords, I heartily beg to thank you for the kindly attention you have afforded me; and I beg your Lordships' leave to move the following humble Address, thanking Her Majesty for the gracious Speech which She has addressed to us from the Throne: MOST GRACIOUS SOVEREIGN, "WE, Your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal Subjects, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, in Parliament assembled, beg leave to offer our humble Thanks to Your Majesty for Your Majesty's gracious Speech. "WE humbly thank your Majesty for the gracious Expression of your Regret that You have found it necessary to call for our Attendance at an unusual, and, as Your Majesty is pleased to say, probably at an inconvenient time. "WE regret to learn that the Sovereign of Abyssinia, in violation of all international Law, con tinues to hold in captivity several of Your Majesty's Subjects, some of whom have been especially accredited to him by Your Majesty, and that the persistent Disregard by that Sovereign of friendly Representations has left Your Majesty no Alternative but that of making a peremptory Demand for the Liberation of Your Subjects, and of supporting it by an adequate Force. We thank Your Majesty for informing us that an Expedition has been sent accordingly for that Purpose alone, and Your Majesty may confidently rely on the |