Lords Sitting of 2 June 1902

EARL OF SHEFFIELD.
Petition of Henry North Holroyd Earl of Sheffield, in the Peerage of Ireland, claiming a right to vote at the elections of Representative Peers for Ireland; read, and referred to the Lord Chancellor to consider and report thereupon to the House.

SAT FIRST.
The Lord Kensington sat first in Parliament after the death of his brother.
The Lord Sefton (E. Sefton) sat first in Parliament after the death of his brother.

PRIVATE BILL BUSINESS.
  HALIFAX CORPORATION BILL,
    METROPOLITAN DISTRICT RAILWAY BILL.
    Examiner's Certificates of non-compliance with the Standing Orders referred to the Standing Orders Committee on Tuesday the 10th instant.
  WEST AND SOUTH LONDON JUNCTION RAILWAY BILL [H.L.]
  The Chairman of Committees informed the House that the promoters do not intend to proceed further with the Bill: The Orders made on the 20th of January and the 20th of March last, discharged: Ordered, That the Bill be not further proceeded with.
  BIRKENHEAD CORPORATION BILL.
  The Chairman of Committees informed the House that the opposition to the Bill was withdrawn: The Order made on the 13th of May last, discharged, and Bill committed.
  MEXBOROUGH AND SWINDON TRAMWAYS BILL [H.L.]
  Reported from the Select Committee, with Amendments.
  BRISTOL CORPORATION BILL [H.L.]
  The King's consent signified; and Bill reported from the Select Committee, with Amendments.
  CENTRAL LONDON RAILWAY (NEW LINES) BILL [H.L.]
  Reported from the Select Committee, with Amendments.
  SCARBOROUGH TRAMWAYS BILL.
  Read 2a, and committed.
  IMPERIAL INSTITUTE BILL [H.L.]
  Read 3a; Amendments made; Bill passed, and sent to the Commons.
  HASTINGS HARBOUR DISTRICT RAILWAY (EXTENSION OF TIME) BILL [H.L.]
  Read 3a, and passed, and sent to the Commons.

  COLWYN BAY AND COLWYN URBAN DISTRICT COUNCIL BILL,
  HUDDERSFIELD CORPORATION BILL,
  KINGSCOURT, KEADY, AND ARMAGH RAILWAY BILL,
  LEAMINGTON CORPORATION BILL,
  LONDON AND INDIA DOCKS (VARIOUS POWERS) BILL,
  LONDON AND NORTH-WESTERN RAILWAY BILL,
  NORTH-EASTERN RAILWAY BILL,
  NORTH METROPOLITAN ELECTRIC POWER SUPPLY BILL,
  RICHMOND HILL (PRESERVATION OF VIEW) BILL,
  WEST HAM CORPORATION BILL.
  Brought from the Commons; read 1a and referred to the Examiners.

  BIRMINGHAM ASSAY OFFICE BILL [H.L.],
  DEAL AND WALMER GAS BILL [H.L.],
  DONEGAL RAILWAY BILL [H.L.],
  PLYMOUTH, DEVONPORT, AND SOUTH-WESTERN JUNCTION RAILWAY BILL [H.L.].
  Returned from the Commons agreed to.

  WATERFORD AND BISHOP FOY ENDOWED SCHOOLS BILL [H.L.],
  Returned from the Commons agreed to, with Amendments.
  TYNE IMPROVEMENT COMMISSION BILL [H.L.]
  Returned from the Commons agreed to, with Amendments; the said Amendments considered, and agreed to.
  CORNWALL ELECTRIC POWER BILL.
  Returned from the Commons with the Amendments agreed to.

  KING'S ROAD RAILWAY BILL [H.L.],
  KING'S ROAD RAILWAY (PUTNEY EXTENSION) BILL [H.L.],
  NORTH-EAST LONDON RAILWAY (No. 1) BILL [H.L.],
  NORTH-EAST LONDON RAILWAY (No. 2) BILL [H.L.],
  PICCADILLY AND CITY RAILWAY (No. 1) BILL [H.L.],
  PICCADILLY AND CITY RAILWAY (No. 2) BILL [H.L.].
  Report from the Select Committee, That the Committee adjourned on certain days during the recess at Whitsuntide for the convenience of parties.
  WEST AND SOUTH LONDON JUNCTION RAILWAY BILL [H.L.],

  LONDON UNITED ELECTRIC RAILWAYS BILL [H.L.],
    BROMPTON AND PICCADILLY CIRCUS RAILWAY (NEW LINES, ETC.) BILL [H.L.],
      CENTRAL LONDON RAILWAY (NEW LINES) BILL [H.L.]
      Report from the Select Committee, That the Committee adjourned on certain days during the recess at Whitsuntide for the convenience of parties.
  KING'S ROAD RAILWAY BILL [H.L.],
    KING'S ROAD RAILWAY (PUTNEY EXTENSION) BILL [H.L.]
    Report from the Select Committee, That it is not expedient to proceed further with the Bills; read, and ordered to lie on the Table.
  LOCAL GOVERNMENT (IRELAND) PROVISIONAL ORDER (No. 1) BILL.
  Read 3a, and passed.
  PAISLEY GAS PROVISIONAL ORDER CONFIRMATION BILL [H.L.]
  Committed to a Committee of the whole House tomorrow.

  GAS ORDERS CONFIRMATION (No. 1) BILL [H.L.],
  WATER ORDERS CONFIRMATION BILL [H.L.],
  EDUCATION BOARD PROVISIONAL ORDERS CONFIRMATION (BARNES, ETC.) BILL [H.L.],
  EDUCATION BOARD PROVISIONAL ORDER CONFIRMATION (SWANSEA UNITED DISTRICT) (No. 2) BILL [H.L.].
  Committed to a Committee of the whole House.

  ELECTRIC LIGHTING PROVISIONAL ORDERS (No. 5) BILL [H.L.],
  ELECTRIC LIGHTING PROVISIONAL ORDERS (No. 6) BILL [H.L.],
  TRAMWAYS ORDERS CONFIRMATION (No. 2) BILL [H.L.],
  EDUCATION BOARD PROVISIONAL ORDER CONFIRMATION (LONDON) BILL [H.L.].
  Committed. The Committees to be proposed by the Committee of Selection.

  LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROVISIONAL ORDER (POOR LAW) BILL.
  Brought from the Commons; read 1a; to be printed; and referred to the Examiners. (No. 79.)
RETURNS, REPORTS, ETC.
THE LORD CHANCELLOR acquainted the House that the following Papers having been commanded to be presented to this House by His Majesty bad been so presented on the following dates by delivery to the Clerk of the Parliaments, pursuant to Order of the House of the 17th February, 1896, viz—
RETURNS, REPORTS, ETC.

  1. SOUTH AFRICA.
  I. Papers relating to the Administration of Martial Law in South Africa (May 21.)
  II. Statistics of Refugee Camps in South Africa (in continuation of [Cd. 939.], April 1902). (May 28.)

  2. TRADE REPORTS: ANNUAL SERIES.
  No. 2798. United States (Philadelphia).
  No. 2799. Portugal (Beira).
  No. 2800. Greece (Ionian Islands).
  No. 2801. Italy (Elba). (May 21.)
  No. 2802. China (Wuhu).
  No. 2803. Persia (Persian Gulf).
  No. 2804. China (Ningpo).
  No. 2805. France (Brest). (May 24.)
  No. 2806. France (Cherbourg). (May 28.)
  No. 2807. Peru.
  No. 2808. France (Dunkirk).
  No. 2809. Italy (Leghorn).
  No. 2810. Russia (Poland and Lithuania).

  3. MISCELLANEOUS, No. 6 (1902).
  Return of the names, ages, and previous employment of persons appointed to the Salaried Consular Service, 1897 to 1902. (May 24.)

  4. BOARD OF EDUCATION.
  I. Revised Instructions applicable to the Code of 1902. (May 27.)
  II. Draft Order in Council for further transfer of Powers to the Board of Education from the Charity Commissioners, under the Board of Education Act, 1899, Section 2. (May 28.)

  5. BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.
  Agricultural Returns (Great Britain) showing the acreage and produce of crops, prices of corn, and number of live stock, with agricultural statistics for the United Kingdom, British possessions, and Foreign Countries, 1901. (May 28.)
  6. CENSUS OF IRELAND, 1901.
  Part I. Vol. III. Province of Ulster (May 29.)
  7. MONEY ORDERS.
  Agreement for the exchange of money orders between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Republic of Liberia. (May 29.)
  8. CENSUS OF ENGLAND AND WALES. 1901.
  County of Stafford (area, houses, and population), also population classified by ages, condition as to marriage, occupations, birthplaces, and infirmities. (May 29.)
  9. LABOUR STATISTICS.
  Eighth annual abstract of labour statistics of the United Kingdom, 1900–1901. (May 31.)

  10. DISEASES OF ANIMALS ACT.
  Report of Proceedings as regards Ireland, for the year 1901. (May 31).
  The same were ordered to lie on the Table.

  SOUTH AFRICA.
  Correspondence respecting terms of surrender of the Boer Forces in the Field.
  IRISH LAND COMMISSION (JUDICIAL RENTS).
  Returns for the months of July, August, September, and October 1901.

  TRADE REPORTS: ANNUAL SERIES.
  No. 2811. Portugal (Lourenço Marques);
  No. 2812. Portugal (Tete).
  Presented (by command), and ordered to lie on the Table.

  INDIA (INDIA OFFICE SUPERANNUATION ALLOWANCE).
  Minute, by the Secretary of State for India, stating that the circumstances under which superannuation allowance has been granted in accordance with Section 2 of the Superannuation Act, 1887, to one of the assistants of the Auditor of Indian Accounts.
  COUNTY COURTS ACT, 1888.
  Order of the Lord Chancellor, dated 28th of May 1902, under Section 45 of the Act, ordering that John Edward Daw, Registrar of the County Court of Devonshire, held at Exeter, shall not practice as a solicitor, and that Section 20 of the Supreme Court of Judicature (Officers) Act, 1879, shall not apply to the office of the said John Edward Daw.
  ELECTRIC LIGHTING ACTS, 1882 AND 1888.
  Special Report by the Board of Trade under Section 1 of the Electric Lighting Act, 1888.
  POLICE (COUNTIES AND BOROUGHS, ENGLAND AND WALES).
  Reports of His Majesty's Inspectors of Constabulary, for the year ended 29th September, 1901.

  POLLING DISTRICTS.
  1. (County of Southampton)—Order made by the County Council of the County of Southampton, altering certain polling districts in the Andover Parliamentary Division.
  2. Borough of Christchurch—Order made by the Council of the Borough of Christchurch, altering certain polling districts in the borough.

  PENAL SERVITUDE ACTS, 1853 TO 1891 (CONDITIONAL LICENCE).
  Licence granted by His Majesty to Mary Ann Kelly, a convict under detention in Aylesbury Prison, permitting her to be at large on condition that she enter the Elizabeth Pry Refuge, Hackney, E.

  SUPERANNUATION.
  1. Treasury Minute, dated 12th May 1902, granting to Mr. Donald McLean, Postmaster at Helensburgh, a retiring allowance under Section 2 of the Act.
  2. Treasury Minute, dated 20th May 1902, declaring that Robert Wright, Royal Laboratory, War Office, was appointed without a Civil Service certificate through inadvertence on the part of the head of his department.

  INTERMEDIATE EDUCATION (IRELAND).
  Rules and programme of examinations for 1903.
  GENERAL PRISONS (IRELAND) ACT, 1877.
  Rules for Visiting Committees of ordinary prisons in Ireland. Laid before the House (pursuant to Act), and ordered to lie on the Table.
  MEDWAY CONSERVANCY.
  Statement of receipts and expenditure of the conservators, for the year from 25th March 1901 to the 25th March 1902.

  ARUNDEL PORT.
  Account and Report for 1901–1902.
  Delivered (pursuant to Act), and ordered to lie on the Table.

  BENEFICES (CITY OF LONDON).
  Return respecting. Laid before the House (pursuant to order of the 6th of March last), and to be printed. (No. 78.)

  THE LATE LORD PAUNCEFOTE.
  THE PRIME MINISTER AND LORD OF THE PRIVY SEAL (The Marquess of SALISBURY): My Lords, before the House goes to the business of the day, I wish to say a few words in remembrance of one whom we have lost, whom I, through many years of friendship, deeply valued, and whose death is a very serious loss to the public service of this Empire. I refer to a Member of this House, Lord Pauncefote. I do not wish to say much about him, only to recall to your Lordships' recollection the great loss that we have sustained. He belonged to a class of public servants of whom, perhaps, we do not quite think enough, but whose power of mind, whose unflagging exertions, whose fidelity to their duty and to their chiefs, are among the causes which enable this country to uphold her strength and her isolation, in spite of all dangers and difficulties by which from time to time our history is threatened. Lord Pauncefote, is a very remarkable instance, though he is by no means a solitary one. He was a lawyer in Hong Kong. I am not aware that he had any special means of obtaining the recognition he deserved. He rose because all with whom he came in contact recognised his sterling abilities and his entire devotion to his country. He rose from one position to another. He came into the central Administration of this country. He was taken into the Colonial Office. Prom the Colonial Office he was taken into the Foreign Office, and from the Foreign Office he went to the Embassy at Washington. And he has now left behind him the reputation of having done more than any one man to cement that union between the two great Anglo-Saxon races which is one of the healthiest and most promising indications of our time. He has done a great work for his country. He has sacrificed himself to it, and I do not wish the occasion to pass without recalling him for a moment to your Lordships' recollection, and pointing

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  out how greatly we benefit by the possession of such men as an example to our public servants and as a sustaining power to the energy of the Empire.
  LORD TWEEDMOUTH: My noble friend Lord Spencer, I am sorry to say, is detained by business in the country—I think his Yeomanry is being reviewed by Lord Roberts—and, in his absence, I desire, on behalf of the Party he leads in this House, to express our entire and sorrowful concurrence in every word that has fallen from the Prime Minister. We feel that the country has lost a great and devoted servant, whose services have been readily, generously, fully given to his country. We have but too few such men to rely upon in this time of difficulty and trouble, and I can say that the loss of Lord Pauncefote is as much deplored and grieved for by the Members of His Majesty's Opposition as it is by the members of His Majesty's Government.
  THE EARL OF ROSEBERY: My Lords, I had no idea that the noble Marquess was going to take this opportunity, very properly, of paying a tribute to Lord Pauncefote, and I should not have intervened in the proceedings were it not that I am, perhaps, the only Foreign Secretary in this House beside the noble Marquess who was associated with him when he was Under-Secretary in that great Department. I desire to associate myself entirely with every word the noble Marquess has said. No one who had to deal with Lord Pauncefote could exaggerate the services which he rendered to the office in which he worked and to the Minister under whom he served. But it was reserved, I think, for the last act of his life to display his value to the Empire in the most conspicuous manner. We cannot but feel that the funeral honours that were rendered to Lord Pauncefote in America, afford a sure text and a sure mark of the esteem in which he was held there and the full reward of his work. I am sure that no one could utter a more auspicious hope over his grave than the aspiration that his death, as well as his life, may have tended to draw nearer the union between the two great branches of the English-speaking race.

  SOUTH AFRICAN WAR—TERMS OF PEACE.
  THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY: I do not quite know what is the regular course of proceeding, but I may be guilty of disrespect to your Lordships if I did not touch on the question of the peace, which occupies the attention of us all. I have there a difficulty. The only information I can give to your Lordships is to read the terms of surrender which have been agreed upon and signed, and which, I hope, will bring the lamentable state of things in South Africa to an end. I am sorry to say they are long. I do not know if your Lordships' patience will resent my attempting to read them now, but, if it does, I can only say that they will probably be in print within the next twenty-four hours. But if I am allowed to read them, I will take leave to do so. The terms of surrender are as follows:—
  His Excellency General Lord Kitchener and His Excellency Lord Milner, on behalf of the British Government, and Messrs. M. T. Steyn, J. Brebner, General C. R. De Wet, General C. Olivier, and Judge J. B. M. Hertzog, acting as the Government of the Orange Free State, and Messrs. S. W. Burger, F. W. Reitz, Generals Louis Botha, J. H. Delarey, Lucas Meyer, and Krogh, acting as the Government of the South African Republic, on behalf of their respective burghers, desirous to terminate the present hostilities, agree on the following articles:
  Article I.—The burgher forces in the field will forthwith lay down their arms, handing over all guns, rifles, and munitions of war in their possession or under their control, and desist from any further resistance to the authority of His Majesty King Edward VII., whom they recognise as their lawful Sovereign. The manner and details of this surrender will be arranged between Lord Kitchener and Commandant General Botha, Assistant Commandant-General Delarey, and Chief Commandant De Wet.
  Article II.—All burghers in the field outside the limits of the Transvaal or the Orange River Colony, and all prisoners of war at present outside South Africa, who are burghers, will, on duly declaring their acceptance of the position of subjects of His Majesty King Edward VII., be gradually brought back to their homes as soon as transport can be provided and their means of subsistence ensured.
  Article III.—The burghers so surrendering or so returning will not be deprived of their personal liberty or their property.
  Article IV.—No proceedings, civil or criminal, will be taken against any of the burghers surrendering or so returning, for any acts in connection with the prosecution of the war. The benefit of this clause will not extend to

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  certain acts contrary to usages of war which have been notified by the Commander-in-Chief to the Boer generals, and which shall be tried by court-martial immediately after the close of hostilities.
  Article V.—The Dutch language will be taught in public schools in the Transvaal and Orange River Colony where the parents of the children desire it, and will be allowed in courts of law where necessary for the better and more effectual administration of justice.
  Article VI.—The possession of rifles will be allowed in the Transvaal and Orange River Colony to persons requiring them for their protection on taking out a license according to law.
  Article VII.—Military administration in the Transvaal and Orange River Colony will, at the earliest possible date, be succeeded by civil government, and as soon as circumstances permit representative institutions leading up to self-government will be introduced.
  Article VIII.—The question of granting the franchise to natives will not be decided until after the introduction of self-government.
  Article IX.—No special tax will be imposed on landed property in the Transvaal and Orange River Colony to defray the expenses of the war.
  Article X.—As soon as conditions permit, a commission, on which the local inhabitants will be represented, will be appointed in each district of the Transvaal and Orange River Colony, under the presidency of a magistrate or other official, for the purpose of assisting the restoration of the people to their homes, and supplying those who, owing to war losses, are unable to provide themselves with food, shelter, and the necessary amount of seed, stock, implements, etc., indispensable to the resumption of their normal occupations.
  His Majesty's Government will place at the disposal of these commissions a sum of £3,000,000 sterling for the above purposes, and will allow all notes issued under Law I. of 1900 of the South African Republic, and all receipts given by officers in the field of the late Republics, or under their orders, to be presented to a judicial commission which will be appointed by the Government, and if such notes and receipts are found by this commission to have been duly issued in return for valuable considerations they will be received by the first-named commissions as evidence of war losses suffered by the persons to whom they were originally given.
  In addition to the above-named tree grant of £3,000,000 sterling, His Majesty's Government will be prepared to make advances on loan for the same purposes, free of interest for two years, and afterwards repayable over a period of years with 3 per cent. interest.
  No foreigner or rebel will be entitled to the benefit of this clause.
  That is the close of the terms of surrender. There are some additional terms, not of such interest, which deal with questions of the treatment of rebels in the Cape Colony and Natal during the last two years, but the
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  general tendency of them may be expressed in the last words—
  "The Natal Government are of opinion that rebels should be dealt with according to the law of the colony."
  LORD TWEEDMOUTH: My Lords, I had no idea when I came to the House this evening, that my two noble friends who are generally associated with me on this Bench would be absent. I speak, of course, without the authority that they would carry, for they have filled again and again many high administrative offices in the State, which I cannot claim to have done. But still I do venture to ask your Lordships to allow me, in a single sentence, to express my congratulations to His Majesty's Ministers and the country on having at length brought this long war to an end. I am sure that the first feeling in the minds of all of us is one of intense gratitude to the higher Power that this war has been brought to a close. This is no time to criticise the terms of peace, or to make any remarks upon them; it is the time only to express a fervent and, may I say, confident hope, that these terms will be so interpreted, and will be so carried out by both parties to them, both in South Africa and in this country, that a lasting pacification of South Africa may ensue, and that we may have among the most loyal subjects of the Crown those very-opponents with whom we have been struggling for the past three years. I fervently hope that all remembrances of an unpleasant character in this war will pass away, and that the only remembrances that will remain in the minds of those who have taken part in the war will be remembrances of the good deeds and the valour which the trial of war has brought out on either side. I think that, if we can secure this result, we may look forward to a future that must necessarily be full of anxiety with some confidence and content.
  THE EARL OF ROSEBERY: My Lords, I hope I may be allowed, in a single sentence, to express to His Majesty's Government my hearty, unstinted, unreserved congratulations upon the announcement of peace which they have been privileged to make today, and to

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  express the hope that today may mark the beginning of a new epoch of peace, prosperity, and commercial development throughout South Africa and the Empire.
  House adjourned at five minutes before Five o'clock, till Tomorrow, a quarter past Four o'clock.