LORD DYNEVOR said, he had had practical experience in Wales of the evils of the existing law. He had been desirous of laying out some of his own money on an estate of which he was limited owner; but on consulting an experienced lawyer he had been informed that the expenses of proceeding under the existing law were so heavy, and the inconveniences so great, that he would inevitably lose money, and he had therefore desisted from any such injudicious proceeding. He was glad, therefore, that this state of things was to be altered by the Bill of the noble Marquess. He thought it was capable of some modifications, which might be done in Committee; and while believing it ought not to have a retrospective action, he anticipated great benefit from its future operation. He ventured to differ from the noble Lord opposite (Lord Portman) who spoke of drainage as a mere temporary improvement. If it were well done there could be no better investment from a landlord's point of view.

Motion agreed to; Bill read 2a accordingly, and committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Monday the 8th of July next.

PARLIAMENTARY AND MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS BILL.-(Nos. 117-157.) (The Lord President.)

REPORT OF AMENDMENTS.

Amendments reported (according to Order).

Clause 3 (Offences in respect of nomination papers, ballot papers, and ballot boxes).

THE MARQUESS OF RIPON moved an Amendment in page 4, line 4, after ("liable") insert

("If he is a returning officer, or an officer or

clerk in attendance at a polling station, to impri

sonment for any term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour, and if he is any other person.")

Amendment agreed to.

Clause 16 (Hours of polling).

THE MARQUESS OF RIPON moved an Amendment in page 9, line 16, leave out The Duke of Richmond

("Until the hour herein-after mentioned, and no longer; that is to say,

"(a.) If the poll takes place between the last day of March and the first day of October, until seven o'clock in the afternoon, and

"(b.) If the poll takes place between the last day of September and the first day of April, until five o'clock in the afternoon.") The noble Marquess said that this alteration would not only extend the hours of polling without incurring the danger of carrying on elections in the dark, but would render the hours uniform in all boroughs and counties in the United Kingdom. At present borough elections in England and Scotland closed at 4, and in Ireland at 5, the latter being the hour in all counties.

THE EARL OF SHAFTESBURY said, he was ready to accept this modification of his proposal. It was not, indeed, all that he wished for, but he was thankful for small mercies.

Amendment agreed to.

The

THE EARL OF SHAFTESBURY said, he rose to propose again, with certain modifications, the clause which he brought forward in Committee, and which was then rejected. He had to-day presented a Petition in its favour from the highest order of working men, representing a large proportion of the great trades of the metropolis. He had modified the clause which their Lordships rejected on Monday night, and should propose that public-houses be closed on the day of polling from noon until the close of the poll, instead of from 8 o'clock in the morning till 8 o'clock in the evening, as the clause originally provided. of bribery was carried on in boroughs, working men alleged that a vast amount and they were extremely anxious, therefore, that this clause should be introduced into the Bill. They also maintained that a number of people were rious pretences, and kept there till the smuggled into public-houses under vapoll was closed. Now when the working men came forward to express a strong opinion on this subject he thought their representations were worthy of the very gravest consideration. Some of them had remarked to him that there was no Representative of their class in either House of Parliament; but he verily believed their Lordships would make this simple concession in deference to their

feelings, in order to show them that their wishes were considered and their interests promoted in the House of Peers. The noble Earl concluded by moving the following clause :

"That on any day fixed for polling at any contested election for any borough or borough county in England or Wales after the passing of this Act, it shall not be lawful for any licensed victualler

or person licensed to sell beer by retail to be drunk on the premises or not to be drunk on the premises, or any person licensed or authorized to sell any fermented or distilled liquors in any part of England or Wales, to open or keep open his house in any borough where a polling-place is situated for the sale of beer, wine, spirits, or any other fermented or distilled liquors between the hour of twelve of the clock at noon of such polling day and the close of the poll on the same day, except for refreshments to a bonâ fide traveller or a lodger therein."-(The Earl of Shaftesbury.)

THE EARL OF KIMBERLEY said, that the subject of the clause did not fairly come within the spirit and intention of the Bill, the avowed object of which was to amend the law relating to the procedure at Parliamentary elections-the matter was one which might more properly be dealt with in the Corrupt Practices Bill. But even admitting that it related to the present measure, the noble Earl's proposal was open to several objections. In London, for example, nothing occurred at contested elections, so far as he could discover, that would render it necessary to close public-houses during the hours of polling. Besides, on such occasions it would be unusually difficult to determine who was a bond fide traveller. Again, there were many country districts in which the population was exceedingly dense, and he could not see why the operation of the clause should not extend to such districts, instead of being confined to boroughs.

THE DUKE OF RICHMOND said, he was unable to support the clausewhich, moreover, certainly did not come within the proper scope of the Bill. There was one part of the country, with which he was acquainted, where the clause would produce great inconvenience. He alluded to the borough of Shoreham, where bribery had been found to prevail, so that 100 years ago it was extended into the Rape of Bramber -a district of some 30 square miles, commencing near Brighton and running westward to Worthing and Horsham. Now, if this clause was accepted, no public-house or refreshment-house could be kept open on the day of polling

throughout this large district and throughout this day no man would be able to get a slice of bread and cheese and a pint of beer. This would be a great hardship upon bond fide travellers.

LORD CHELMSFORD said, the object of the Bill was to regulate proceedings at elections, and he was not aware that drinking was one of the proceedings at Parliamentary elections.

THE EARL OF SHAFTESBURY maintained that the subject properly belonged to the present measure, which was expressed to be designed to put down bribery and intimidation, and these were notoriously carried on to a great extent in public-houses. Even if the subject might be more fitly introduced into the whether that measure would ever be Corrupt Practices Bill, they did not know brought forward. He believed that this proposal was intimately connected with purity of election, both as regarded intimidation and bribery, and therefore he should take the sense of the House upon it.

On Question? Their Lordships divided: -Contents 15; Not-Contents 37: Majority 22.

Resolved in the Negative.

Clause 17 (Alterations for application of Part I. to Scotland).

THE MARQUESS OF RIPON moved an Amendment, page 10, line 8, after ("provided always ") insert

("That if any person shall be proposed as a candidate without his consent the person so proposing him shall be liable to defray his share of all these expenses in like manner as if he had been a candidate himself; provided also.")

And in line 11, after ("officer") leave out ("and") and insert (" shall not exceed two guineas per day, and the fee to be paid.")

to

Amendment agreed to.

Further Amendments made.

Bill to be read 3a on Tuesday next; and be printed as amended. (No. 168.)

COUNTY RATES.

MOTION FOR A RETURN.

LORD HENNIKER, in moving for a Return of sums expended in the various counties in England and Wales levied on the county rate during the year 1871, said, that the Return for which he now moved was similar to one he had moved

for in the House of Commons in 1869 for that year. The Return was intended to show what proportion of the total expenditure in counties, in each county in England and Wales, was administered by the local authority under statute, and what proportion was expended over which they had entire control. This information had been found to be most useful on more than one occasion, in discussing schemes for the establishment of county financial boards, local taxation, and many other matters affecting management. A Bill would probably be introduced into the other House of Parliament to provide that certain Returns, including that which he desired, should be made annually; but as it was extremely unlikely that a measure of that kind could be passed that Session, and a large number of persons interested in county management were anxious to obtain the information in question, he hoped their Lordships would ask that it should be produced. In connection with this subject, he might be pardoned for adverting to the difficulty which was experienced in obtaining correct and accurate Returns. The Return for 1869 was not complete, and he was told, and he believed with truth, that there were no means of compelling those who prepared Returns to take any trouble about them, and-what was still more to the point, perhaps no means of remunerating them for their trouble. This state of things required a remedy, for Returns were only misleading if they were not accurate and correct in every respect.

Motion agreed to.

Address for, Return of the sums expended in the various counties in England and Wales levied

on the county rate during the year 1871, showing separately the total expenditure in each county and the portion of the above so spent under statute over which the local authority have no control and that over which they have an independent control; also the items of expenditure in each county under the last column: [Tabular Form].-(The Lord Henniker.)

INCLOSURE LAW AMENDMENT BILL [H.L.]

A Bill to amend the Law relating to Inclosures of Commons, and to provide for the management of Commons situate near Towns-Was presented by The Earl of MORLEY; read 1a. (No. 169.)

House adjourned at a quarter before
Eight o'clock, to Monday next,
Eleven o'clock.

Lord Henniker

HOUSE OF COMMONS,

Friday, 21st June, 1872.

MINUTES.]-NEW WRIT ISSUED-For Aberdeen City, v. Lieutenant Colonel William Henry Sykes, deceased.

-R.P.

SUPPLY considered in Committee. - Committee PUBLIC BILLS-Ordered-First Reading-Tribunals of Commerce * [206]; Metropolitan Police Superannuation * [207].

Second Reading-Colonial Governors Pensions [176]; Bakehouses * [54], put off. Committee-Mines (Coal) Regulation (re-comm.) [150] R.P. Committee-Report-Education (Scotland) (recomm.)* [31-204]; Wildfowl Protection [46205].

Committee-Report-Considered as amended— Landlord and Tenant (Ireland) Act (1870) Amendment (No. 2) (re-comm.) * [124]. Considered as amended-Third Reading-Bishops Resignation Act (1869) Perpetuation* [137], and passed.

The House met at Two of the clock.

EDUCATION-INCREASED ALLOWANCE TO IRISH SCHOOL TEACHERS. QUESTION.

SIR FREDERICK W. HEYGATE asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland, If he can now state the decision of the Government respecting the increased allowance to the Irish School Teachers under the National Board of Education?

THE MARQUESS OF HARTINGTON, in reply, said, he was not yet in a position to make a complete statement as to the decision of the Government respecting increased allowances to the Irish school teachers under the National Board of Education, but he thought he might say that the question had made some progress since the hon. Baronet first put the Question. If not before, he hoped to be able to give a complete statement of the matter when the Vote for Irish Education came before the House.

:

the Monastic and Conventual Institutions Bill be postponed from the Orders for that Day (Friday), till the House should meet at 2 P.M. on Tuesday next; but that, on a division, it was found that there was not present Members enough to constitute a House. His Motion, therefore, for the postponement of the Bill till 2 P.M. on Tuesday next, stood recorded upon the Votes and Proceedings of the House. He had not made that Motion inconsiderately, but, after consultation with several of the senior Members of the House, for the purpose of raising the following Question, which he desired to put to the Speaker: Whether there exists any Standing Order or Resolution of the House, or any ruling or decision of any Speaker in the House, whereby a Member, not connected with Her Majesty's Ministry, was precluded from placing any Bill, of which he might be in charge, as the First Order for consideration when the House may meet at 2 P.M. on Tuesday, or to put the same question in other words, using the familiar phraseology of the House-whether an independent Member can appoint any stage of a Bill of which he may be in charge as the First Order of the Day for consideration, when the House meets at 2 P.M. on a Tuesday?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. Member having been good enough to give me Notice of the Question, I have thought it my duty to look into the matter, and I do not know that I can do better than quote the decision given by the Speaker on the 26th of June, 1851. The point now submitted by the hon. Member was raised on the 24th of June, 1851, and again on the 26th, when the Speaker made use of these words

"The practice of the House-for no rule existed on the subject-had always been, since he had the honour of sitting in that Chair, that at the morning sittings the Government Bills took precedence over other Bills; but other hon.

Members were not precluded from putting down their own Bills for the morning sittings, and if they were put down, they would come on in the regular order, after the Government Bills, if there were any."-[3 Hansard, cxvii., 1254.]

There has been no departure from that ruling, nor could any departure from such ruling be sanctioned without the express authority of the House itself.

EDUCATION (SCOTLAND) [re-committed] BILL-[BILL 31.]-COMMITTEE. (The Lord Advocate, Mr. Secretary Bruce, Mr.

William Edward Forster.)

Bill considered in Committee.

(In the Committee.)

COLONEL BARTTELOT said, he wished to call attention to an occurrence which took place on the previous evening. On postponed Clause 2 being put from the Chair, it was declared to be negatived; yet at a later period of the evening the Lord Advocate endeavoured to get the Committee to pass a similar clause, with an alteration of one or two words; acquitting the Lord Advocate of any intention of obtaining an undue advantage, he thought such a course deserve condemnation, as reflecting discredit on the proceedings of the House.

MR. ORR EWING said, he presumed that what the Lord Advocate intended to do last night was to negative the 3rd, and not the 2nd clause; but as the 2nd clause was rejected, he kept the 3rd clause in the Bill, which was not required if the new clause the learned Lord Advocate proposed were inserted. He (Mr. Orr Ewing) wished to know whether he really proposed to keep both clauses in the Bill? If he did so, there would be two sets of officials to do the same work, and he feared that the management of Scotch education, which had hitherto cost nothing, would in the hands of Education Departments, local treasurers, and collectors, and pedagogues to hunt up absentees, prove very expensive.

MR. MELLOR said, he also felt anxious about the question of expenditure, and he begged to ask the Lord Advocate whether the people of Scotland were to bear the expenditure of establishing the whole of the machinery which would be rendered necessary by the provisions of this Bill, or whether the people of England were to be called upon to pay a share towards the education of the people of Scotland?

THE LORD ADVOCATE said, the organizing Commissioners appointed by the new clause of which the Committee approved last night, were to hold office temporarily that was to say, for three years, with power to extend the period of five years if found necessary. While they were in office, they would be substantially the only officers in Scotland,