Lords Sitting of 4 May 1874

MINUTES.
PUBLIC BILLS—First Reading—East India Annuity Funds* (51); Gas and Water Orders Confirmation* (52); Landed Property (Ireland) * (53).
Second Reading—Hertford College, Oxford *(46); Public "Works Loan Commissioners (Loans to School Boards) * (23).
Committee—Report—
Harbour Dues (Isle of Man) (34).
Third Reading—Bishop of Calcutta (Leave of Absence) * (35), and passed.

THE PEACE OF EUROPE.

  MOTION FOR PAPERS.
  EARL RUSSELLrose to move an Address for Copies of any correspondence relating to the maintenance of the Peace of Europe with the Governments of the Emperor of Germany, the Emperor of Austria, the Emperor of Russia, and the French Republic, which can be communicated without injury to the public service. The noble Earl (who was very imperfectly heard), said, that, as he had not taken any part in the debate on the Address in reply to the Speech from the Throne on the opening of Parliament, he might, perhaps, be permitted to say

  1565
  a few words with reference to the late change of Ministry. Many years ago, when addressing those who were then his constituents in the City of London. he told them that when the people of England—who were the ultimate Court of Appeal—found that reforms were progressing too slowly, they always manifested a great disposition to place in power that party whose object was to reform and to preserve; but when, on the contrary, they thought matters were hurried on too quickly, they manifested an equal disposition to place in power those whose chief object was to preserve and to reform. For himself, he found no fault with that disposition. He thought the one party was required to be in power at one time, and the other at other times, and that was plainly the opinion of the country. Therefore the inquiry he was about to address to the noble Earl the Secretary of Foreign Affairs was not one conceived in a spirit of hostility to Her Majesty's Government. That inquiry had reference to the state of Europe, and to the intentions of the Government on certain eventualities. In the first place, he would remind their Lordships that the state of Europe five years ago was one of great apparent tranquillity, and there seemed, according to a statement of the then existing Government, to be no danger of a rupture of that peace; yet people who were well informed knew that at that very time there was a determination on the part of the people of Germany to have a unity of Germany, and, on the other hand, a determination on the part of the French to obtain the Left Bank of the Rhine. Their Lordships were aware of the events which had since occurred, and what he now wished to know was whether the symptoms of agitation and hostility which at present were to be perceived, were the subsiding waves of a past storm, or the omens of coming tempest. They had it from a great man, Field Marshal Moltke, in a statement made recently by him to the German Parliament, that what Germany had obtained in five months would require 50 years to consolidate. On the other side, he had been told by people well informed, that the whole of the French Army, from the highest marshal down to the lowest ensign, were determined to have their revenge for what they regarded as a spoliation of the territory of
  1566
  France and the rupture of her integrity by the annexation of Alsace and Lorraine. The question, then, was whether the symptoms now perceived were those of an approaching storm, or whether, notwithstanding those symptoms, we might remain for some years in peace and tranquillity. If they were the signs of storms, and if the peace of Europe was likely to be disturbed, it would be desirable to know whether Her Majesty's Government would in that case prepared to take measures to preserve the peace of Europe? For his own part, he was convinced that such was the vast influence of England in the councils of Europe, that it would be in her power to preserve the general peace. He did not think any Power would venture to disturb it if there was a strong alliance between England and the other Powers determined to preserve the peace of Europe. He imagined, in the first place, that they might rely on nor Majesty's Government adhering to all the engagements and all the Treaties by which the Crown of Great Britain was bound to her allies. On this point he hoped there would be no attempt to evade or shirk those positive engagements which the Crown of this country had entered into. He trusted, in the next place, that if there was any danger to the peace of Europe the whole influence of Great Britain would be exercised for the purpose of preserving that peace. There could be no disturbance of the peace of Europe, without the infliction of great evils on this country. It was not only that trade would suffer, but also the social happiness, the progress of liberty, and the advance of arts and civilization would be endangered. A great man, who had great influence—and ought to have great influence—in the councils of Germany, had declared that it was necessary for the Empire to have a standing army of 400,000. He did not require the noble Earl (the Earl of Derby) to give him any information which would be injurious to the public service, but he thought the subject was one of such interest to Parliament and the country, that any information the noble Earl could give, and which would enable the country to form an opinion, so as to prepare for coming events, would be very valuable at the present time. The noble Earl then moved for the Papers.

  1567
  Moved. That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty for, Copies of any correspond-once relating to the maintenance of the Peace of Europe with the Governments of the Emperor of Germany, the Emperor of Austria, the Emperor of Russia, and the French Republic which can be communicated without injury to the public service.—(The Earl Russell.)
  THE EARL OF DERBY: My Lords, the tone and language of the noble Karl who has moved for Papers are of themselves sufficient to convince the Government that he did not introduce the subject in any hostile spirit; and I am ready to admit that no subject could be more worthy the attention of your Lordships; and I know no Member of your Lordships' House who is more justly entitled to bring it under your Lordships' notice than the noble Earl. But, beyond that, I am sure your Lordships will feel that the inquiry which has been addressed to me is one which involves questions of the gravest and most momentous interest. It is an inquiry to which it is very difficult to reply in general terms, lest language might be used which might lead to misapprehensions outside your Lordships' House. Speaking—as I am bound to do here—under a sense of responsibility, and with the recollection that every word which I may titter will be repeated in other countries, I can reply to the noble Earl's Question only in the most general terms. The noble Earl asks me whether we are to regard the agitation which we now see in Europe as only a result of past wars—as only the swell left by storms that have passed; or whether we are to regard it as an indication of new storms that are about to break. My Lords, if I am to answer that question, however generally, I can only do so by distinguishing between the more immediate and the more remote future. If I look to more remote; events—and events pass quickly in these days—I do not think it would be fair, or that it would be right or honest, for me or any one in my position, to deny that in the present appearances there may be ground for apprehension and anxiety. I do not say that on any peculiar or official information: it is a conclusion founded on information common to the whole world. We must all bear in our recollections the events that happened four years ago. "We know the feelings they have left in the minds of two great populations, and which, as
  1568
  those populations are composed of human beings, it was impossible but they should have left. We know that among the population of France there is a very general and wide-spread desire to regain that territory which they lost by the fortune of war: and, on the other side, there is an equally strong determination to retain that which has been acquired. Now, that is a condition of things which is known to every one, and in referring to it I am merely reminding your Lordships of circumstances of which you are aware. It may be said that there is no use in trying to prevent what is inevitable, and that do what we may war will come sooner or later. I think it was Mr. Canning who, in reply to a person who made a similar remark to him, said—" Well, if it is to come sooner or later, I should prefer that it should be rather later than sooner." Obviously there is the possibility that with time feelings of agitation will subside in men's minds, and that, therefore, there is, as years go on, a greater chance of the preservation of peace. I think, however, your Lordships will be of opinion that I would be doing a very rash thing if I ventured to predict what may happen in some years to come. But with all that feeling of uncertainty I must say that if I may judge from all the information I receive—from the general tone and spirit of the communications which reach me from all parts of Europe—so far as immediate appearances go, there is no serious cause for apprehension of any present disturbance of the peace of Europe. I now come to the other Question which the noble Earl has addressed to me. The noble Earl asks, in the event of the dangers of war becoming more imminent, what should we do to preserve the peace? Now, my Lords, that is an inquiry which cannot be answered in any very definite terms; but I think there cannot be any doubt that without embroiling ourselves in a quarrel to which we were not a party, we should leave no reasonable endeavour untried to preserve peace. The noble Earl asks whether we shall adhere to our International Treaty engagements. I do not think there will be much doubt in the minds of your Lordships as to the answer which I shall feel it my duty to give to that Question. If for any reason an International Treaty or engagement becomes inapplicable to the circum

  1569
  stances of the time, it may be the duty of the Government concerned to state that to the other parties to the Treaty; but if you accept the obligations of a Treaty, and give the other parties interested reason to believe that you consider them binding, you are bound in honour and good faith to maintain them. It is well known that England has even of late years entered into Treaties imposing grave obligations; and I do not hesitate to say that we regard them as binding in honour and good faith. As regards the Papers for which the noble Earl has asked, I have looked through them, and I do not find in the Correspondence anything of such a character as would prevent them from being laid on the Table at the present time, so far as the Government of this country alone is concerned. We have no reason for withholding them; but there are the interests of other Governments to be regarded, and we are bound to respect the confidence which they repose in us. If there are any Papers of the nature referred to by the noble Earl which can be laid on the Table without inconvenience to the public service. I shall be happy to produce them.
  Motion (by leave of the House) withdrawn.

THE TREATY OF WASHINGTON—OREGON BOUNDARY—THE FENIAN RAIDS.—QUESTION.
EARL RUSSELLsaid, he had also given Notice to move for—
"Any further Instructions given to Her Majesty's Envoy to the United. Stales of America, explanatory of the Treaty of 1846, relating to the Oregon Boundary; and also an account of all compensations received for the injuries to person and properly inflicted by Fenians from the United States upon Her Majesty's subjects in Canada."
The noble Earl said, he could not but observe that, in the negotiations for the Treaty of Washington, wherever we demanded, and had a right to demand, redress, we did not obtain it. It was so with regard to the Fenian incursions which took place into Canada, in the course of which farms were pillaged and great injury done to property, and the lives and families of many of the colonists were sacrificed, and yet when redress was asked for, the only answer was that the United States' Government
1570
had given their representatives no instructions to answer that demand. So, again, with regard to the passage through the Straits by San Juan, there were two channels suggested, both of which were quite against the words and spirit of the Treaty. He believed that what Baron Hübner said was really the fact, and that in these proceedings our Government had tarnished the national honour, lowered the national character, and sacrificed the national interest. He found that the opinion of the people of England entirely agreed with what he had on repeated occasions urged upon the House, and at the last-General Election the decision of the nation in the ultimate court of appeal, the constituent bodies of this country, had condemned the Treaty of Washington. It was the opinion of Lord Lyons that this question ought to have been left undisturbed; and he (Earl Russell) thought so too. The people of England at the late Election having really decided the question, he felt it unnecessary to move for any further Papers; and he hoped that what had been done in the making of that Treaty would never be repeated. It was said, indeed, that redress was afforded to Canada by the guaranteed loan for the Canadian Railway; but he confessed that he was ashamed of that proposal, for he thought that a money compensation should have been given to those who were injured and who had their property destroyed. He hoped that there would be no repetition of such a sacrifice of the interests of the people of this country. We ought to risk everything in future negotiations rather than that England should not stand on equal terms with any other country in the world, and the Government of England ought, at all risks, to uphold her honour.

ENDOWED SCHOOLS—SCHEME FOR ELLSWORTH'S CHARITY.

  MOTION FOR AN ADDRESS.
  THE BISHOP OF BATH AND WELLS THE BISHOP OF BATH AND WELLS moved an Address, praying Her Majesty to refuse Her assent to the scheme of the Endowed Schools Commissioners for the management of the charity established under the will of Richard Ellsworth, for the benefit of the parishes of Timberscombe and Cutcombe and

  1571
  adjacent parishes in the comity of Somerset. The Founder, Richard Ellsworth, lived in the reign of Queen Anne; and by his will, which was made in 1714, left a number of small legacies for educational purposes in the parishes named. The Founder was evidently a man of great piety, and it would be evident from a perusal of his will that it evidenced two leading motives—one the strong love of the testator for Timberscombe, and the other his great love for the Church of England. The trustees were to be the incumbents; directions were contained in the will for the use of catechisms in the schools, and the educational books, for which he left bequests, were to be chosen by the Bishop. the, seemed to be the design of the Endowed School Commissioners to take away every sixpence from the parish of Timberscombe and its adjoining villages. The bequest of £50 a-year, was to be taken away. They would; then possess board schools, supported by rates; but there could be no religious education—as the testator plainly desired—in these schools. The charity had been unfortunate. It had in the course of time met with two calamities from defaulting trustees and the Court of Chancery, where it once remained for a period of 25 years. During those years the funds increased to the amount of £7,626. Now came this scheme dealing with those funds and the charity, and if it should be carried out very great injury would, as he conceived, be done to those parishes. The trustees had appealed against the scheme, but they had been unsuccessful. The facts were these:—There were eleven trustees, and six were actually against the scheme; but at a meeting which took place only nine attended, and of these, four were for the scheme, two against it, and three did not vote: consequently, it appeared on the appeal that there was a majority for the scheme. He was not actuated by any narrow or illiberal motive whatever, nor did he oppose the scheme out of any dislike to the Commissioners, for he thought that many of their schemes were excellent. He wished for more of these funds to be given to the two parishes mentioned, in the great hope that education would be stimulated, and the benefits arising therefrom would be diffused amongst all the people of the parishes.
  Moved that an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying Her Majesty to refuse her assent to the scheme of the Endowed Schools Commissioners for the management of the charity established under the Will of Richard Ellsworth for the benefit of the parishes of Timberscombe and Cutcombe and adjacent parishes in the county of Somerset.—(The Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells.)
  LORD LYTTELTONsaid, that as he understood, the noble Duke the Lord President of the Council was disposed to allow the objection against this scheme, and therefore he had not much encouragement to uphold it. Moreover, as the working of the Commission might be considered as, at present, in a transitional state, it was, perhaps, natural that this scheme should stand over. He was bound to acknowledge the consideration the noble Duke and Lord Sandon had given to such of the Commissioners' schemes as had been brought before them. Since their accession to office, he doubted whether, if the noble Marquess (the Marquess of Salisbury) had been placed at the head of the Department, one out of twenty of those schemes would have been allowed to pass. In reference to a remark of the right rev. Prelate, he must say that if the Endowed Schools Commissioners were to be bound to adhere to the exact purposes of the founders, except in the extreme cases of the destruction of whole villages, or the desertion of the villagers to nonconformity, there would be little occasion for the services of the Commissioners—there would be no need to go beyond the old system of the Court of Chancery. In this case the Commissioners had endeavoured to extend the area of the endowment, and to make it applicable to a great many contiguous parishes. The charity had been of no benefit whatsoever for the purposes of education except to Timberscombe and Cutcombe and one or two other small places; and as regarded Timberscombe and Cutcombe, the schools were the worst in the county, and the school buildings had fallen into a state of dilapidation and ruin. Bishop Chapman, who was at present one of the official trustees, had written a letter stating that it was most lamentable to see how this endowment had been wasted. The right rev. Prelate had stated that there would not be left to Timberscombe one farthing of annual endowment, and that the trustees had

  1573
  appealed. Now, he (Lord Lyttelton) was not aware that the trustees had appealed; but he knew that there had been two distinct Votes of the trustees in favour of the scheme. The Commissioners proposed to allow sufficient sums of money for putting the school buildings into good condition; they had left £10 a-year for the poor of Timberscombe, and given that parish a preferential right to exhibitions; and they assigned funds for the encouragement of education in several places in the locality. In addition to that, they had allotted a sum for a higher class school to be erected at Minehead. The elementary schools would come under proper inspection, and would obtain the Government grants. The Commissioners had acted strictly according to the Preamble of the statute, which directed them to promote education amongst all classes in the localities in question by means of endowments. It would be a question for the Government to discuss, when they came to consider the prolongation of the Commission, whether they should ask Parliament to grant greater powers to the Commissioners than they at present possessed, or whether they should give a greater power 10 the Education Department to amend what the Commissioners should recommend. In conclusion, he would submit that the present scheme deserved their Lordships' approval.
  THE BISHOP OF BATH AND WELLSexplained that there was an appeal to the Privy Council, that four of the trustees signed the appeal, and that two others gave their assent to it—making six out of the 11 trustees.
  THE DUKE OF RICHMONDsaid, he did not object to the general outline of this scheme; but he thought that, as a scheme, it ought not to be agreed to, because the Commissioners had not carried out the details in a proper manner. He thanked the noble Baron (Lord Lyttelton) for the manner in which he bad been pleased to express himself in regard to other schemes which had come under his notice; but after the reference made to himself and the noble Marquess rear him (the Marquess of Salisbury), he would go through those schemes again with more care, because he might have erred in the views which he had formed of them. It appeared to him that their Lordships should put themselves
  1574
  in the position of the testator, and ask what he would have done if he had been alive at the present moment—looking at this surplus charity, had the Commissioners dealt with it in the way in which the testator would have disposed of it? The testator's main object evidently was to benefit Timberscombe and Cutcombe, and to give to the children of those parishes the advantages of a religious education, He (the Duke of Richmond) was not one of those who thought that free education was always of benefit to the locality that was entitled to it; for his experience was that the poorer classes did not value much that for which they paid nothing; and therefore he should be sorry to sanction a scheme which would give to Timberscombe and Cutcombe an entirely free education. The noble Baron (Lord Lyttelton) said there had been no objection to the scheme. Well, Minehead would not object, for the Commissioners proposed to allot £1,500 to that place for the erection of suitable buildings for a higher class school; and, in addition to that, £100 a-year for the maintenance of the school. But with so large a sum of money to dispose of. He did not see why more should not be done for Timberscombe—the place that Mr. Ellsworth chiefly desired to benefit. He did not see why both Timberscombe and Cutcombe should not receive larger benefits than were proposed by this scheme. The former was to get a sum of money down, for the purpose of carrying out repairs of the schoolhouse; but there was no sum set apart for the regular maintenance of the school. It might very well happen that after the building had been put into a proper condition, there would not be sufficient money found in the parish to carry on the schools in accordance with the rules laid down by the Education Department; and it might, in consequence, become necessary to establish school boards in the parish. The result of this state of things would be that the parish would not enjoy that religious education which it had been the chief object of Mr. Ellsworth to impart. He did not object to the scheme as a whole, but was of opinion that too little was given under it to Timberscombe and Cutcombe. In this respect it did not seem to him to carry out the views of the testator. That was why he objected to this scheme. Parliament could not amend it, and therefore

  1575
  he was obliged to support its rejection.
  THE EARL OF DEVONsaid, he quite agreed that they ought to consider what the testator would have done if he had now been alive, and he thought that he would have agreed to the scheme which the Endowed Schools Commissioners had framed. Both Timberscombe and Cutcombe would be materially benefited by it. They would both receive grants—the former £150, the latter £400—towards erecting their new schools. Moreover, there would be a considerable number of exhibitions founded, open to the competition of the children of several parishes. There being in the district a large number of small parishes, remote from large towns, it was much to be desired that the competition should not be restricted with in narrow limits. Any child belonging to those parishes would be able to gain an exhibition, and would thus be able to push himself forward in the world. These exhibitions would tend to remedy what was an admitted defect in our elementary education, by preserving an intimate connection between schools of different grades. He did not agree with the view taken by the right rev. Prelate, that this scheme was an unjust one: on the contrary, looking at the great increase in the funds, he considered that it was a wise application of the doctrine of ey près, as the Commissioners had made the funds available for educational purposes over a considerably wider area, and he, moreover, thought that the right rev. Prelate, in objecting to the scheme that it was unjust to the Church of England, had overlooked the composition of the proposed Governing Body. He had given his best attention to the scheme, and he felt he could come to no other conclusion than that it ought to be supported.
  LORD REDESDALEconsidered that the parishes referred to ought to have the full benefit of the charity—at least, to the extent required to exempt them from rating for primary education. Parliament had determined that schools of a higher class should not be aided by public rating, but to whatever extent a parish became liable to be rated for primary education by being deprived of an income properly belonging to it applicable to that purpose, it was practically rated for the school of a higher class, to the support of which the income
  1576
  of which it had been robbed was devoted.
  EARL FORTESCUEconsidered that the question was one of great importance, because of the principle involved, and its bearing upon the educational endowments of the country generally, so far as the working of the Commission was concerned. He thought the late Government had made a great mistake in acting upon a part only of the wise recommendations of the Schools Inquiry Commissioners—namely, that for the appointment of the Endowed Schools Coin-mission. Those last Commissioners—not all of them judiciously selected—had begun with much too sweeping and rash proposals; and after being most properly defeated upon some of them in that House, had now gone into the opposite extreme, and had been of late adopting, under the pressure of local trustees, schemes incompatible with a sound and comprehensive policy. Neither Government nor Parliament was a desirable tribunal to decide questions of this kind. What was desirable was the establishment, in accordance with the wise Report of Lord Taunton's Commission, of provincial or county boards for considering, each in its own locality, the best application of the educational endowments there. Such bodies would, he contended, not only be able to prepare schemes with advantage for the sanction of the central authority, but also to reconcile the districts which would be affected by it to any of its provisions which might seem to be in conflict with their petty local interests.
  THE MARQUESS OF RIPONpointed out that the scheme of the Commissioners would not take away all the endowments from the parishes in question, and that they furnished the means of obtaining exhibitions, to which he attached great importance. The effect, he maintained, of throwing out the scheme would be to continue for another year the exceedingly unsatisfactory state of things which now existed. It was not necessary to reject that scheme and delay the whole matter indefinitely merely for the purpose of effecting objects which might be attained through the action of the Charity Commissioners. With regard to the effect of the scheme on the interests of the Church of England, the education to be given under the scheme was distinctly to be in accordance with that

  1577
  Church, and the provisions as to the appointment of Governors were such as would maintain the Church character of the endowment.
  THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURYsaid., the principle on which the Government desired to look at the scheme was, in the first place, in the interest of Timberscombe, which it was the object of the founder to regard. By the scheme, Timberscombe was not to have what it had hitherto enjoyed—an annual revenue for the support of its school. The consequence might be that it would be driven to have a school board, and then it would no longer have education in the principles of the Church of England. Therefore, it appeared to him that the intentions of the Founder were disregarded, the interests of the ratepayers of Timberscombe unduly pressed upon, and the interests of the Church of England, as far as Timberscombe was concerned, entirely set aside. The effect of rejecting that scheme need not be to delay the matter for a whole year. A new scheme could be framed; and if there were no opposition, it would not require to be laid before Parliament, but might come into operation in about five months at the outside. Of course, if there was opposition to the amended scheme, it must be presumed there was some ground for that opposition until the contrary was declared. With regard to the suggestion that the scheme might be amended by the Charity Commissioners, there was something anomalous and unsatisfactory in the idea that the moment a scheme became law another authority was to be called into action to alter its provisions.
  Motion agreed, to.

ENDOWED SCHOOLS—(SCHEME FOR COMBE'S SCHOOL, CREWKERNE).

  MOTION FOR AN ADDRESS.
  THE BISHOP OF BATH AND WELLS THE BISHOP OF BATH AND WELLS moved an Address praying Her Majesty to refuse Her assent to the scheme of the Endowed Schools Commissioners for the management of the school founded by John do Combe, in the year 1499, at Crewkerne, in the county of Somerset. The right rev. Prelate said, that after what had just occurred, lie need not trespass on their Lordships' attention beyond a very few moments. The Crewkerne
  1578
  Grammar School was a very excellent and admirable institution, which was doing a great deal of good in the town where it was situated, and it was and always had been a Church school. The scheme of the Endowed School Commissioners would have the effect of taking away the Church character of the School, although there was no grievance of any kind, no breach of trust, no waste of the funds; while there was a conscience clause tinder which the education was open to persons of all denominations, and the feelings subsisting between Churchmen and Dissenters in the place were very amicable.
  Moved that an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying Her Majesty to refuse her assent to the scheme of the Endowed Schools Commissioners for the management of the school founded by John de Combo in the year 1199, at Crewkerne in the comity of Somerset.—(The Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells.)
  LORD LYTTELTONcontended that the Commissioners were bound by the Act to treat the school as one not connected with the Church of England. He was not aware that any of the Trustees or inhabitants objected to the scheme.
  THE DUKE OF RICHMONDsupported the Motion, on the ground that the scheme would convert the School, which had from time immemorial been in connection with the Church of England, into one which need not have such connection. It was true that the original trust deed had been lost, so that there was no absolute legal evidence of its connection with the Church; but the records which remained showed that the children had been taught the Church catechism. The management of the School had been so satisfactory, as reported by the Assistant Commissioners a few years ago, that the Commissioners need not have meddled with it, and he believed that had they dealt with it at a later period they would have inserted in this, as in another scheme, a Proviso that the religious instruction should be in accordance with the teaching of the Church of England. With such an Amendment He should be quite satisfied.
  THE MARQUESS OF RIPONheld that the Commissioners could not legally have treated the School as one coming under the 19th section of the Act. Even the Amendments proposed by Mr. Hardy in the Bill of last Session—Amendments which the noble Marquess (the Marquess

  1579
  of Salisbury) announced would govern his consideration of any schemes this Session—would not have placed this School in a different category. While protesting against the precedent about to be created, he trusted to the fairness of the noble Puke, the Lord President, not to bind himself by that precedent, feeling sure that he would give a dispassionate attention to the circumstances of the various endowments which came before him.
  Motion agreed to.

  GAS AND WATER ORDERS CONFIRMATION BILL [H.L.]
  A Bill for Confirming certain Provisional Orders made by the Board of Trade under the Gas and Water Works Facilities Act, 1870, relating to Braintree and Bocking Gas, Brough Elloughton and District Gas. Chelmsford Gas, Dartford Gas, Guildford Gas, Harwich Gas, Lofthouse and District Gas, Retford Gas, Romford Gas. Sidmouth Gas. Sutton-in-Ashfield Gas, High Wycombe Water, Inverness Gas and Water. Maidstone Water—Was presented by The Lord DENMORE; read 1a and referred to the Examiners. (No. 52.)

  LANDED PROPERTY. (IRELAND) BILL [H.L.]
  A Bill to amend the Acts facilitating the improvement of Landed Property in Ireland—Was presented by The Earl of BANDON; read 1a. (No. 53.)
  House adjourned at half past Seven o'clock, till To-morrow, half past Ten o'clock.