Sitting of 4 February 1859

MINUTES.
NEW WRIT ISSUED.—For Dublin University, v. George Alexander Hamilton, esq., Steward of the Manor of Northstead.
PUBLIC BILLS.—1o Occasional Forms of Prayer.

MILITARY HONOURS TO THE "HOST," AT MALTA—QUESTION.
SIR ANDREW AGNEWsaid, that without alluding to any particular case he wished to inquire of the Secretary of State for War whether a garrison order had been issued at Malta to the effect that all guards and sentries are to present arms to and salute the Host whenever it might pass their respective posts? Whether Her Majesty's Government had sanctioned this order, or were prepared to allow a similar one to be enforced in any British dependency? Whether Captain Sheffield, of the 21st Royal North British Fusiliers, had been placed under arrest for declining (as a Protestant) to comply with this order?
GENERAL PEELreplied that all orders given to the troops in garrison broad were transmitted to this country. He had made inquiries at the Horse Guards, and was informed that no order whatever had been given, except the circular issued by Lord Hill, in 1837. That circular had been acted on up to the present time without any complaint having been made, or the authorities seeing occasion to alter it.

THE MILITIA—QUESTION.
COLONEL NORTHsaid, he would beg leave to ask the right hon. Gentleman at the head of the War Department whether there was any truth in the rumour that it was in the contemplation of Her Majesty's Government to reduce 10,000 of the present embodied militia force?
GENERAL PEELsaid, that the strength of the embodied militia always had depended, and would continue to depend, on the number of men required to complete the establishment voted by Parliament, which during the present year amounted to nearly 22,000. It would depend entirely on the number of regiments sent home from India this year whether that number would be diminished or not. No doubt the rumour had arisen from the circumstance that it was the intention of the Government to disembody some regiments in order to substitute others. The Government did not think it advisable to keep the same regiments embodied for a very great length of time, inasmuch as the men acquired per-
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manent military habits, and lost all their ordinary connection with the classes from which they were drawn. It was, therefore, the intention of Government to disembody some regiments and call out others, especially in the artillery service, in order to give more opportunities for drilling and practice.

GALWAY PORT AND HARBOUR.

  QUESTION.
  VISCOUNT DUNKELLINsaid, he wished to inquire of the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he had any objection to lay on the table of the House a copy of the instructions given to the Commissioners appointed last October, by the Irish Government, to visit and inspect the port and harbour of Galway; and a copy of the Report presented by the Commissioners on the condition and wants of the harbour; and to state what steps, if any Her Majesty's Government had taken, or proposed to take, in consequence thereof?
  SIR JOHN PAKINGTONsaid, that there was not the slightest objection to lay the Report to which the noble Lord had referred on the table of the House. In point of strictness, the inquiry was not carried on by a Commission. He received an application from the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, expressing a wish that some inquiry should be made with regard to the capabilities of the port and harbour of Galway as a harbour of refuge and a port for the packet service. In consequence of that application he appointed two experienced officers of the Admiralty (Captain Washington and Captain Vetch) to make an inquiry. The Government of Ireland associated with those gentlemen an experienced Irish engineer (Mr. Gibbon), and those three gentlemen made an investigation as to the capability of the port of Galway, both as a packet station and a harbour of refuge. As he had stated, he had no objection to lay their Report on the table, but he might state that it was certainly very much in favour of the adoption of the port for those purposes. If he recollected rightly, it was stated that for an expenditure of a few thousand pounds Galway Bay might be rendered very valuable both as a harbour of refuge and a packet station. The latter part of the question did not strictly belong to the department with which he had the honour of being connected. It was rather one for the Treasury than for the Admiralty; but he might state that the Government had

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  been in communication both with the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and the Postmaster General, but no final decision had yet been made.
  MR. H. HERBERTsaid, he wished to ask whether the gentlemen referred to were instructed to inquire into the capabilities of any other port in Ireland besides that of Galway?
  SIR JOHN PAKINGTONsaid, that the communication which he had received from the Irish Government referred solely to Galway, and the inquiry had been confined to that port.

  THE ADDRESS,—REPORT.
  Report of Address brought up and read.
  MR. HADFIELDsaid, he could not but express great pleasure at that portion of the Queen's Speech which referred to the improvement of India. The importance of India to this country could not be overrated, especially at the present time, when the manufacturing portion of the community were expressing some alarm lest there should be a deficiency in cotton and other raw material. He believed that no one knew better than the noble Lord at the head of the Indian department the capabilities of India, and it was but reasonable to hope that after all the blood and treasure which had been expended in India this country should now reap some advantage, especially as that advantage would be shared in by the conquered as well as the conquerors. Nothing was so important to the welfare of this country as that there should be a good and constant supply of that staple article of our manufacture—cotton; and for his part he knew of no reason which could prevent its being supplied in abundance by our own dependencies. It had been calculated that the manufacturers of England were paying ten millions of money annually, beyond the natural price for that article to the United States. It was the duty, therefore, of the Government to do all in their power to foster the produce, and facilitate the transmission of so necessary a material. The wants of India were chiefly limited to two—roads and water for the purpose of irrigation. With these supplied, he believed that that country would be able to make up all the difference between an abundant and a restricted supply of cotton. He had the greatest confidence in the noble Lord, and knew that he entertained the most enlightened views on the question. Probably no
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  Gentleman in the House understood it better. Expectation had been held out upon this subject by the noble Lord before he entered office, and he (Mr. Hadfield) had the greatest confidence that those expectations would be realized now that he was in office. The noble Lord had a magnificent work before him, and one might well envy his position. He had an opportunity, by the adoption of a sound policy, to advance the best interests of India, and at the same time he could secure to this country the greatest blessings. He felt sure that the noble Lord would not neglect that opportunity. At the same time, perhaps, it would not be inconvenient that the House should be informed of the intentions of the Government with respect to this important subject.
  LORD STANLEY: The House, I am sure, will not desire that I should go now into details upon the question of the cotton supply and the progress of public works in India. I shall have the opportunity of alluding to that subject ten days hence, since it is one which is naturally connected with the question of Indian finance. For the present, I will only say that I agree with the hon. Member both as to the possibility and as to the importance of greatly increasing the supply of cotton from India. It has been estimated that the difference between a good and a scanty supply of cotton in this country is about equal to the difference between a war income tax and no income tax at all. It is therefore a matter to which no English Minister and no Member of this House can he indifferent. I agree with the hon. Member also, that the most important means which the Government have in their power for the purpose of promoting the cotton supply from India is to facilitate communication between different parts of the country. I believe that if we can only supply means of transit from the interior to the coast, it will be found that any other difficulties which may be supposed to he in the way of carrying on the cultivation of the article will rapidly diminish. The Government is fully convinced that, even in the present condition of Indian finance—and that this condition is very serious I need scarcely tell this House—it is their duty not to discontinue expenditure upon public works. Caution and discrimination will be needed; but if we were to discontinue all outlay upon public works until a deficit should become a surplus, that would not be the way to bring the finances of India into

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  a flourishing condition. It is a common mistake to suppose that there has been little or no expenditure of this description in India. For a considerable number of years there has been an average outlay of £2,000,000 on public works. I do not, of course, claim credit for the whole of those works as being of a reproductive character. It is difficult to state exactly to what extent they are reproductive, but probably I should be within the mark if I assumed that of the £2,000,000 a year so expended previous to the outbreak of the mutiny, one half at least might be regarded as a profitable investment. During the two years of the mutiny there has necessarily been a decrease in this item of expenditure; but that decrease has not gone so far as might be supposed, the outlay having amounted to £3,000,000, or three-fourths of the average of the preceding ten years. We are at present, perhaps, in a more unfavourable position in one respect—I do not mean in reference to finance—than at any former time; because we are now incurring all the expenditure which belongs to a large system of works undertaken without receiving any portion of that profit which can only begin to arrive when the works shall be completed. I came down to-night not prepared to go into this subject, and I speak therefore from general recollection; but I think I may say, in round numbers, that the length of railroad sanctioned in India is 5,000 miles, and that the amount actually under construction is about 3,000 miles, while the quantity finished and opened does not exceed 550 miles. We have, therefore, a heavy outlay to bear with a comparatively small return. But I am confident that when the main lines of communication shall be completed, the traffic will increase to such a degree in the districts through which they pass as will very soon make them amply remunerative. I shall be prepared to enter more at length into this subject ten days hence. In the meantime, perhaps, I may state that we have at this moment in contemplation a plan which will greatly increase the amount of skilled engineering labour at the disposal of the Government. Another class of public works on which some labour has been bestowed is that of irrigation. In the course of last autumn the Indian Government, for the first time, took the step of giving a guarantee to a private company as in the case of railways, for carrying
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  on works of irrigation. Considerable difficulties were anticipated—and I do not say that some of those difficulties may not yet arise—as to the negotiations which may have to take place between the company and the cultivators who are to purchase the water which it supplies. But, whatever those difficulties might be, I felt that the experiment was one which ought to be tried, and a guarantee of a million sterling, therefore, was given for that purpose There is no portion of the business of the Indian Administration to which I and the Members of the present Government attach so much importance as to that of pressing on earnestly and expeditiously undertakings of this nature. Guarantees to the extent of something like £37,000,000 have been given to railroads and to other companies of that description, and we have felt that in the present state of the money-market it was not expedient indefinitely to increase the number of those guarantees; partly because their value would be thereby depreciated, and partly because between the time when the interest upon undertakings of that kind becomes payable, and the time at which they bring back any return a considerable interval must elapse. We have thought it, therefore, more desirable to press forward with the utmost speed the works that are already actually in progress than by giving the fresh guarantees to begin on new works to any great extent.
  MR. BRIGHT: Sir, I have listened to the observations of the noble Lord with very great pleasure. I think that he has given a very fair answer to the question of my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield (Mr. Hadfield). But there is one point, which has not been referred to, which I think bears very importantly upon the question raised. I fully admit the necessity that there is for establishing roads, or railroads, or some means of communication in various parts of India; but I can conceive it quite possible that the roads should be as good in India as in any part of England, and yet that there should be very little improvement in the cultivation of the soil or in the production of the land. We have had a case of this description near home. In no part of the United Kingdom are the roads better than in Ireland; at the same time, we know that from causes of a different character the agriculture of Ireland was about as bad as possible. We may have, therefore, in India any number of roads that English capitalists may like to make, under the guarantee of the Govern-

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  ment, and still we may have very poor cultivation and very little production from the soil. I believe, therefore, that unless something be done—in Southern India especially, in the province of Madras—to improve the tenure of the land, and to give greater security both to the cultivators and to the owners of the soil, little good will result from guarantees to railway companies. I have been very sorry to observe, from private letters and from public newspapers, that the Government of Madras have been following the example of the Government of Bombay, in a manner which I conceive to be little short of official insanity. The Government of Madras have issued a commission, called an Enam Commission, for the purpose of ascertaining the validity of the titles to land in that province; but I think that anybody who has been concerned with Indian affairs during the last two years, must have observed how complete was the unanimity of opinion with respect to the absolute folly and injustice of a similar commission in Bombay. It might be said—indeed, it has been said—that this commission in Madras is not exactly the same as that in Bombay. Unfortunately, it has the same name, and with the same name, it will do the same work, and I fear that it will produce the same results. If I understand it aright, it is intended to examine into the title deeds and rights of possession of proprietors of land, whose rights have not been disputed for half a century; and the mode in which the inquiry will be carried on—judging from what took place in Bombay—is such, that if it were attempted in regard to the property of the landed gentry in England, it would change this country in a week from a condition of tranquillity to one of absolute revolt. I am speaking from a statement which has been made to me by a gentleman of very high character, and of great information in India, and I believe that I express the sentiments of most gentlemen in this country who are acquainted with the state of affairs in India. The noble Lord, in his new Governor of Madras, has made an appointment which I think is calculated to gain the confidence of the House, and of the friends of India, fur I am disposed to think that the gentleman who is going out there is as well qualified, probably, as anybody who could have been chosen for the high office which he is about to fill. At the same time, I do not care what is the character of the man, or how just and pure may be the motives of the noble Lord in
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  appointing him to that office—if he goes to Madras, and is to carry out a system so severe, so relentless, so utterly unjust as has been adopted in the Presidency of Bombay, then, I say, whatever troubles may happen in Madras, and however serious they may be, the noble Lord and those who are associated with him will be responsible for them. It cannot be of the slightest consequence to the Government whether half a score or half a hundred men hold land upon titles which, of whatever nature, have not been questioned for half a century; but it is very important that that expression in the Proclamation which appeared to guarantee to the people of India their rights of property should not be merely a statement upon paper, but should be felt to be a truth by all the Natives of India. The noble Lord, I am sure, will know that I am not making these observations for the purpose of detracting from his merits as the Governor of India in this country. I beg that he will use his own strong sense and just feeling towards the people of India, and that he will not allow the officialism of that country, the red-tapism, the old Indianism—so to speak—to overrule him in a matter of this nature. If he does, I believe that he will have next year, or the year after, to repent that he did not act with regard to India upon the only principle which could be applied to the land in this country. I think that the fair thing would have been to appoint a Commission, not to inquire into the titles to these estates, but generally into the whole tenure of land in India, as was done with respect to the practice of torture some time ago. If a Commission were appointed to inquire into the whole question of the tenure of land, especially in the province of Madras, with its population of more than 20,000,000, and in which the land, owing to the mode in which it is held, has no saleable value, and to gain all the information upon that subject which was to be had, I think it very probable that the noble Lord might be able to introduce some legislation which would give to the land, and the industry of the people, and die climate of India, a fair chance of producing all that they could produce, and to the manufacturers of this country all the benefits that could result from their connection with a country capable of producing so abundantly as we know that India can produce. I do not ask for an answer now. I merely throw out these observations as suggestions, and ten days

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  hence, I hope, we shall hear from the noble Lord that a Commission will be appointed to inquire into this subject of the tenure of land, which I do not hesitate to say is the first and foremost question to which the noble Lord should direct his attention.
  LORD STANLEY: I am glad to hear those expressions of gratification which have fallen from the hon. Member with respect to the appointment of Sir C. Trevelyan to the Governorship of Madras. At the time that appointment was determined on I wrote to Lord Harris to request that he would suspend all operations with regard to the Enam Commission until the arrival of his successor at Madras. The object of the Commission is not to disturb the old tenures, but, on the contrary, to confirm them, and to give a Parliamentary title to a great mass of property the validity of the title to which is disputed.
  COLONEL SYKESsaid, that probably the best course would be to defer any discussion on these subjects until the noble Lord made his statement ten days hence; but in reference to the observation of the hon. Member for Birmingham that he hoped the noble Lord would not permit old Indians to overrule him, he had to remark that it did not follow because a man was an "old Indian" that he was necessarily either an advocate or an admirer of "Enam Tenure Commissions." There was not one man in a hundred in this country who really understood the question of tenure of land in India. With respect to Enam Commissions great misconceptions prevailed. The rights to be inquired into were not the rights to the land, but the right of Enamders to the Government tax which issued out of it. There were a hundred different tenures of land in India, and if a Committee were to sit in that House and go into every tenure it would not finish its labours for years. On the question of the production of cotton, he wished to know were they to compel the freemen of India—for they were still free—to cultivate cotton merely because it was wanted here? Cotton could be produced to an unlimited extent in India, and if the manufacturers of England wanted it, let them make it worth the while of the Natives to grow it in preference to sugar or indigo, or oil seeds; let them send their agents into the country as he had frequently told them during the last twenty years, and contract with the farmers, and cotton would be cultivated to any extent. The House, perhaps, was not aware that while India exported some
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  £23,000,000 worth of her produce annually, she only took in return some £12,000,000 or £13,000,000 of the manufactures of this country. Why was this? Because many of the products of this country—woollens, hardware, stationery, glass, &c., were not required in India, and the consequence was, that the balance of trade with India since 1800 had been paid in bullion, and remained in the country. With regard to public works, the noble Lord had even underrated the amount expended upon them in the five years preceding the mutiny. At this moment three magnificent works of the highest importance were in progress of construction—one, the screw-pile pier at Madras, where for a hundred years past passengers and merchandise had been landed through the dangers of the surf, but which dangers were now about to be removed by the erection of a screw-pile pie—another, the water works in Bombay, which would be completed this year, the water being conveyed from Salsette—and the last, the improvement of the harbour of Kurrachee in Scind, at a great outlay, which improvement, when finished, would make the harbour accessible to ships of large burden, to the great advantage of the important trade with Central Asia. As to the road communication that really was not a question of so much importance as the hon. Gentleman (Mr. Bright) supposed. For many months of the year, during the dry season, all India was a road. The country was not divided or separated by fences as in England, and the whole country might be traversed in any direction. Let us hope that with a prospect of the people of India having their confidence restored in the Government, there will soon be a return to that state of prosperity to which the country had advanced before the late disturbances.
  SIR J. ELPHINSTONEsaid, he could corroborate the statement of his hon. Friend (Colonel Sykes), as to the growth of cotton in India. He had been in the principal cotton-growing districts, and was assured they were capable of growing an unlimited supply. The great difficulty at present arose from the considerable damage which was done to the cotton from the manner in which it was brought down to the coast from the interior. It was carried on the backs of bullocks. One load was dragged a certain distance and toppled over, after that another load was brought down and so on, so that by the time it reached the coast, it was often in a state of the greatest

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  impurity. No company had ever been formed for purchasing cotton in the interior, screwing it up, and sending it down to the coast. He thought if the gentlemen who wanted the article were to send their agents into the country to do this, they might purchase cotton in any quantity, and of a superior quality. In conclusion, he might state that he had grown cotton in India himself, and he knew it could be grown with a profit.
  MR. J. EWARTremarked that there was a necessity of greater irrigation in India before the supply of cotton could be expected to be much increased.
  Address agreed to: to be presented by Privy Councillors.

  THE QUEEN'S SPEECH.
  HER MAJESTY'SSpeech to be taken into consideration on Monday next.
OCCASIONAL FORMS OF PRAYER.

  ACTS CONSIDERED IN COMMITTEE. BILL PRESENTED. READ 1°.
  On the Motion of Mr. WALPOLE, Acts read, and ordered to be considered in Committee.
  (In the Committee).
  MR. WALPOLE: Sir, the Committee will recollect that during the last Session of Parliament two Addresses were moved—one by the other House of Parliament, and the other by this House—to Her Majesty, praying for the discontinuance of certain forms of prayer on the 30th of January, the 29th of May, and the 5th of November. In pursuance of those Addresses, Her Majesty, by warrant, has now directed the discontinuance of those forms of prayer; but on the issuing of that warrant it was necessary for the Government to consider whether there were not certain Acts still in force which would forbid the exercise of that warrant, by reason of those Acts requiring the observance of those particular days. I find that there are certain Acts of Parliament—I think six. seven, or eight in number—in which no provisions are made for any particular service or form of prayer, but in which directions are given to ministers to observe those days, and to the people to attend church. In some instances it is enacted that these days shall be kept as holidays, and that all persons shall abstain from labour and trade; in others, notice is required to be given on the preceding Sunday that these days are to be kept as holidays. I think the Committee will agree with me that as Her Majesty, by
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  warrant, has directed the discontinuance of those special services which were appointed for the particular days I have mentioned, it is right that the Acts of Parliament to which I have adverted should be repealed; and I, therefore, now beg leave to move that you, Sir, be directed to ask that leave should be given to bring in a Bill to repeal certain Acts, or parts of Acts, which relate to the observance of the 30th of January and other days.
  Resolved, That the Chairman be directed to move the House, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to repeal certain Acts and parts of Acts which relate to the observance of the thirtieth of January and other days.
  Resolution reported and agreed to: Bill ordered to be brought in by Mr. FITZ ROY, Mr. SECRETARY WALPOLE, and Mr. HARDY.
  Afterwards, Bill presented and read 1o.
  House adjourned at Six o'clock till Monday next.

MINUTES.
PUBLIC BILLS.—1a Vexatious Indictments; Juries in Civil Causes.

SIR JOHN LAWRENCE.—EXPLANATION.
EARL GRANVILLE: I am anxious, my Lords, to take this early opportunity of making a statement with regard to one of the most distinguished men in India—one to whom this country is greatly indebted for the part which he took in the suppression of the recent rebellion in India. I allude to Sir John Lawrence. I have had a correspondence with that gentleman with respect to a statement which I made last year, and, with the permission of the House, I will state the result of that correspondence. In the course of a debate in the last Session I stated, as a proof of the firmness of Lord Canning, that on hearing that negotiations had arisen with the insurgents at Delhi, he took upon himself to send a telegraphic message, objecting to their being proceeded with, although they had been regarded favourably by Sir John Lawrence and by the military authorities. Now, this statement was made upon information of the most reliable character. But from the communications which I have received from Sir John Lawrence, it appears that the negotiations were not with the body of the insurgents, but were proposed by the King of Delhi to the general in command, (General Reed) not General Wilson, as I supposed at the time; and Sir John Lawrence concurred in the opinion that it was desirable to negotiate with the King of Delhi, on condition that he could give an assurance that he had never issued orders for the murder of any of our fellow-countrymen, and on his giving a guarantee to deliver into our hands the gates of his palace, thereby enabling us to take the other positions of the insurgents in the reverse. The chief reasor assigned by Sir John Lawrence for agreeing to those negotiations is the small number of our troops, the inefficiency of our siege trains, the immense disproportion of the field guns of the enemy, the almost hopelessness of the prospect of taking Delhi, and other considerations, which in his opinion made this measure desirable and which would moreover save many valuable lives. At that period the communications between Sir John Lawrence and Calcutta were entirely suspended Sir John Lawrence sent information to

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Lord Canning as to his views on this matter, but I have reason to believe that that particular despatch was not received by Lord Canning. It appears that afterwards a message was received from Lord Canning, stating that he had heard rumours of such negotiations being on foot, and objecting to any negotiations which would have for their result the replacing of the King of Delhi in his former position. That telegraphic message arrived after the negotiations had been found to be fruitless, and at the time when our troops had been reinforced, and the siege had been very nearly completed. These statements are the result of a very long letter with which it is scarcely necessary to trouble your Lordships; but the statements in this letter are fortified by confirmatory documents. My Lords, I have never doubted for a moment that any course taken by Sir J. Lawrence was supported by most weighty reasons; and, at the same time, I am still of opinion that it required great moral courage on the part of Lord Canning, when he heard of the rumour of negotiations, to take upon himself to forbid such negotiations. Although I have no doubt that Sir John Lawrence was right, and if possession of the place could have been obtained at that time it would have prevented the loss of valuable lives; still, upon the other hand, judging after the event, it was of some advantage that Delhi should have been taken by our troops without any such negotiations having been completed with the king, who was at the head of the insurgents. No person can imagine that I wish to disparage the merits of either of those distinguished men in order to raise the character of the other. That is certainly not my intention; on the contrary, I believe that both in their different capacities performed their duty in a manner which is now fully appreciated both in this country and in India. What is especially satisfactory to me is, that in his letter Sir John Lawrence speaks in the highest terms of Lord Canning, and Lord Canning has never failed in his private letters to me to acknowledge in the warmest terms the great services of Sir J. Lawrence.

TEE QUEEN'S ANSWER TO THE ADDRESS.
THE LORD STEWARD OF THE HOUSEHOLD (the Marquess of EXETER)brought up the following gracious Message from HER MAJESTY, in answer to the Address:—
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MY LORDS,
I thank you sincerely for your loyal and dutiful Address.
I have great Satisfaction in receiving the Assurance of your careful Consideration of the different Measures which will be submitted to you; and you may rely on My cordial Co-operation in your Endeavours to improve and strengthen the Institutions of the Country, and to promote the Happiness and Prosperity of My People.

IMMIGRATION ACT (JAMAICA) PETITION.
LORD BROUGHAM presented a petition from emancipated labourers, and others, of Arnatto Bay, in the Island of Jamaica, complaining of a Bill having been passed, without due consideration and in great haste, seriously detrimental to their interests: the Bill related to the immigration of free labour, and the Petition prayed that the same might be disallowed. The petitioners complained that the Petition had been passed through the Legislature with such haste, that they had no opportunity of raising their voice against its enactment, They further stated that there was no want of labourers in that country, and that all attempts which had been made to obtain a further supply of them had proved absolute failures. The petitioners also complained that the introduction of these labourers lowered the rate of their own wages; and herein he could not altogether agree with the Petitioners, but it tended to make him lean towards their view if the Bill imposed taxes upon the Island so as to make them pay for a premium for this very importation. It was also a grievance that the work of the clergy was frustrated, as the immigrants introduced a vast amount of superstition and immorality; and they therefore prayed that their Lordships would, by an address to the Crown, use their influence to prevent the Royal Assent being given to the measure. He should not now go further into the matter, than give notice that he should on Monday ask a question of the noble Lord, the Under Secretary for the Colonies, as to whether the Royal assent had or had not been given to this Bill.
House adjourned at half-past five o'clock, Monday nest, half-past four o'clock,