words to the like purport, but the omission of any Clause 12 (Amendment of Sect. 4 of the Vagrant Act). LORD ROMILLY moved to leave out, in line 27, the words ("was unlawful or that his intent,"). As the clause stood, an ordinary trespasser might have been visited with severe penalties. from the date of the last of such convictions no such license as aforesaid shall be granted to any person whatever in respect of such premises; and any license granted in contravention of this section by the Excise or otherwise shall be void.” This provision would give the magistrates control over beer-houses as well as public-houses. THE EARL OF SHAFTESBURY regretted that melting-houses were not to be subjected to some restrictions. Were it not for those houses stolen plate, no matter were hidden, might frequently be discovered, but whenever plate was stolen it was taken to these places, and within two or three hours after the rob the Government would at no distant day feel themselves in a position to deal with these establishments. THE EARL OF KIMBERLEY said, he had no objection to the Amendment; but he thought his noble and learned Friend had over-rated the effect of the clause. Its object was not to add to the punish-bery was melted down. He trusted that ment authorized by the Vagrant Act, but to render it unnecessary to prove any overt act. At present a policeman might see a man lurking about a house, evidently intending to break into it, but he could not apprehend him unless the man did something incipient to breaking in. His noble and learned Friend proposed to limit this provision to cases of felony, and the object of the Bill being to deal with the graver class of crimes, he would not object to the Amendment. Amendment agreed to. THE EARL OF KIMBERLEY said, that the words of the clause were too vague, and proposed to define such houses in the following terms: "Lodging-house, beer-house, public-house, or other place where excisable liquors are sold, or place of public entertainment or public resort." Amendment agreed to. THE EARL OF SHAFTESBURY moved an addition to the clause, (" or allow the deposit of goods, having reasonable cause for believing them to be stolen"). Amendment agreed to. THE EARL OF KIMBERLEY moved an Amendment in page 6, line 3, to leave out from (" and if") to the end of the clause and insert "And any license for the sale of any exciseable liquors or for keeping any place of public entertainment or public resort which has been granted to the occupier or keeper of any such house or place of resort as aforesaid shall be forfeited on his first conviction of an offence under this section, and on his second conviction for such an offence he shall be disqualified for a period of two years from receiving any such license; moreover, where two convictions under this section have taken place within a period of two years in respect of the same premises, whether the per sons convicted were or were not the same, the justices or magistrate may, if they or he so think fit, direct that for a term not exceeding one year EARL GREY objected to any discretion being left to the magistrates as to shutting up such houses after conviction, and thought that premises as to which there had been two convictions should be invariably debarred from a license for a certain time. The owners of these houses sometimes possessed an influence over the magistrates, who would, therefore, be reluctant to exercise severity. There was to be no discretion in the case of the tenant, and there should be none in the case of the landlord. THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY said, that it was introducing a new principle to make a landlord responsible for the character of his tenant, and he could not see why it should be applied exclusively to this particular kind of property. The effect would be that the value of every public-house in the kingdom would immediately fall. No landlord could be certain that his tenant would not come under the operation of this clause, and unless he had been unduly careless it would be hard to make the landlord suffer. It was unwise to attempt to prevent crime by indiscriminate severity towards persons guilty of no crime, nor carelessness. As to meltinghouses gold and silver could easily be melted in any good kitchen fire, so that the surveillance of those establishments would not prevent the evil referred to by the noble Earl (the Earl of Shaftesbury). even of any EARL GREY contended that if a landlord had two successive tenants who carried on business in the same objectionable manner it was not unjust to suspend the license for a year. THE EARL OF HARROWBY was also of opinion that the punishment was not excessive, and he objected to an invidious discretion being left to the magistrates, who were often on friendly terms with the owners of the houses. THE DUKE OF CLEVELAND quite agreed with the noble Lords. He thought that two successive tenants of bad character argued carelessness on the part of the landlord, and that a discretionary power would involve conflicting decisions. LORD ROMILLY agreed with the noble Marquess (the Marquess of Salisbury) that it was a new principle to make the landlord answerable for the propriety and morality of his tenant. The large brewers had necessarily an enormous number of public-houses, so that they could not be excessively fastidious as to their tenants' characters, and the persons who took public-houses were of a peculiar character, for they must be persons who were not afraid of a little tumult. He thought their Lordships would act very harshly if they were to impose such a penalty upon persons presumably innocent without great consideration. THE EARL OF KIMBERLEY thought cases of hardship might occur if no discretion were left to the magistrates. However, as the clause stood, a landlord would for his own interests look very sharply on his tenants' conduct. He admitted that the discretionary power proposed might be somewhat invidious, but this objection applied to all discretionary powers. Amendment agreed to. THE EARL OF KIMBERLEY moved to add as a separate paragraph at end of Clause 14 Moreover, where proceedings are taken against any person for having in his possession stolen goods, evidence may be given that there were found in the possession of such person other goods stolen in two or more other robberies within the preceding period of twelve months, and such evidence may be taken into consideration for the purpose of proving that such person knew the goods to be stolen which formed the subject of the proceedings taken against him." This addendum was intended to carry into effect the suggestion that the law as to guilty knowledge in the case of receiving stolen goods should be assimilated to that in the case of uttering base coin. A person might in one instance unintentionally utter base coin, but when he IRELAND-ST. PATRICK'S DAY IN DUBLIN.-QUESTION. MR. R. FOWLER said, he wished to ask the Chief Secretary for Ireland, Whether it is true, as reported in The Times and other Newspapers, that at Guard Mounting in the Castle Yard, Dublin, on St. Patrick's Day, the popu lace "indulged in revelry of a dangerous form, and afterwards expressed their hatred of England by groaning and hissing the National Anthem in the presence of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland ?" MR. CHICHESTER FORTESCUE: Sir, I was almost sorry when I saw on the Paper the Question of the hon. Member, because it tends to give something like importance to circumstances of the most trivial nature. But of course I have made it my business to ascertain the facts, both officially from the Police Commissioners and from persons in the suite of the Lord Lieutenant, and perhaps the best thing I can do is to read a sentence or two from the Report of the Commissioners of Police, which is more than confirmed by others who were pre- | Our relations with the small maritime sent. The Commissioners say- cess, so much so that many people failed in their for a short time ; I suppose this was the "dangerous revelry" spoken of— nothing, however, but good-humour prevailed; and after the bands left the yard the crowd broke up and went peaceably to their homes. It would appear that there was a certain amount of hissing and groaning when the National Anthem was played at the close of the proceedings, but not greater than in former years on the same occasion, nor than may be heard, more or less, at the theatres." I am sorry to say that it has been a very bad and offensive habit on the part of the lowest of the population of Dublin on some of these occasions to express disapprobation of the National Anthem. -not, I believe, out of any personal disrespect to Her Majesty, but thinking that it is an emblem of British connection, I suppose. Upon the occasion referred to by the hon. Member, however, there was nothing unusual, and nothing which ought to have been described in the words of the extract which he quoted. INDIA-NAWAB OF JUNGERA. QUESTION. MR. EYKYN said, he wished to ask the Under Secretary of State for India, Whether his attention has been called to the Petition of Nawab Seeda Abdoul, claiming to be the rightful Nawab of Jungera; whether it is true, as stated in such Petition, that the reigning Nawab has kept for many years, and is still keeping, the family of Nawab Seeda Abdoul in confinement in a fortress at sea; and, whether the Government have taken any and what steps for their release? MR. GRANT DUFF: Sir, to the first of my hon. Friend's Questions I am able to give a direct answer. My attention has been called to this petition, and there is no validity whatever in the claim of the petitioner. To the second Question I cannot give so direct an answer, for the following reason: State of Jungera are of the most curious kind. Unconquerable by our predecessors in the sovereignty of Western India, this little State, although absolutely insignificant in point of material strength, has been unconquered even by The attitude of Jungera towards the British Government is partly courteous, partly apprehensive, partly repellent. This attitude our authorities respect, never interfering except when absolutely forced to do so. Although Jungera is so near Bombay, its rude independence is not tempered by the presence of a British Resident, and hence we have not the same facilities for knowing what goes on there that we have with reference to most native Courts. The tenour of such information as has reached us about the affair to which my hon. Friend calls attention is at variance with the information that has reached him, but we intend to make some further inquiries into the matter. ARMY-EXPENDITURE ON FORTIFICA TIONS.-QUESTION. MR. FAWCETT said, he would beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury, Whether, considering the state of the Revenue, he will consent to suspend for the present all expenditure upon Fortifications? MR. CARDWELL: Sir, I will ask permission to answer the Question of the hon. Gentleman. Under the existing Acts there is power to raise £5,950,000 upon a total estimated cost of £7,470,000, and up to the end of last year there had been expended £5,332,806. It will be evident that, in order to complete the works, it will be necessary for the Government to bring the subject again under the consideration of the House. I may suggest to my hon. Friend that the day after to-morrow the state of the revenue will be laid before the House by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and that a Committee was appointed by the right hon. Gentleman who preceded me in my present Office to examine and report upon the whole state of the Fortifications. not yet received that Report, but I understand that it is likely to be made very shortly. As soon as it is made it will be laid upon the table of the House, and with these two pieces of information I have before them the House will be able to would have the effect of promoting form a judgment upon the whole subject. correspondence, and would prove one of MR. FAWCETT: Am I to understand the most valuable feeders for the legitithat no more money will be spent until the House has had an opportunity of expressing its opinion? MR. CARDWELL: I did not mean to convey the impression that any orders will be given to stop the present expenditure. I have stated the amount of money which we are empowered to raise, and how nearly the amount already expended has reached that point. At an early period, therefore, it will be necessary that the House should be again consulted upon the subject. POST OFFICE-INLAND POSTAGE. RESOLUTION. mate business of the Post Office. In other countries, where trade and commerce were valued, great facilities were afforded for the circulation of the species of information he referred to. In the United States 1d. carried three circulars throughout the length and breadth of the land. In France, where the postage on letters was 1d. within the barriers and 2d. outside, one-tenth of 1d. carried a circular throughout the whole of the country, including Algiers. In Belgium, with a letter postage of 1d., a similar reduction was made for the delivery of circulars; England alone continued to levy a tax on the distribution of circulars, which were acknowMR. GRAVES, in rising to call at- ledged to be a necessity for commerce. tention to the rates of Inland Postage He had tried to ascertain the amount on printed matter, said, the first thing of circulars distributed by the Post which directed his attention to the sub- throughout the whole country, but he ject was the discovery that in his own had not been able to arrive at any neighbourhood, some three to five miles conclusive result. By the Post Office from the Post Office, the great bulk of Reports it appeared that 4,500,000 the trade circulars were distributed by printed circulars were delivered in the hand, and not through the Post Office, London district in 1865, and, assuming and repeated inquiries satisfied him that about one-third of the letter corthat the Post was used for the delivery respondence of the country was distriof circulars to a very small and insig-buted in the metropolis, the amount of nificant extent. He was also satisfied circulars distributed in the whole of the that the tariff of 1d. for four ounces amounted almost to a prohibition in the case of circulars, and that a concession by the Post Office of a d. rate for two ounces of printed matter would be regarded as a boon by the commercial community. Since his Motion had been placed on the Paper he had received many communications on this subject from all parts of the country. Generally speaking, the writers approved the principle of the Motion with which he meant to conclude, but some advocated greater facilities for receiving and delivering letters; some, a reduced fee on registered letters; others, a reduction upon money letters; and some urged a greater payment to the subordinate officials of the Post Office, especially the letter carriers, in consideration of the increased work which such a project as this would throw upon them. But he did not desire to be considered a postal department reformer, and his only object was to reduce the fees for the transmision of printed matter and newspapers, a course which, if adopted, United Kingdom might be taken to have been at that time about 13,000,000, yielding a revenue of £54,000. It was difficult to ascertain the number of circulars delivered by private hand. A short time ago an effort was made in Liverpool to discover the number, and about 238 replies were received in answer to applications for information on the subject, showing the number of circulars delivered by private hand in that town in the course of the year approached 2,000,000; and some of the replies stated that if the postage were reduced to ad. for two ounces' weight one-third of the number would be sent through the Post Office, and that if the postage were reduced to d. nearly the entire number would be so sent. The private delivery of circulars offered a great inducement, on the score of economy, to tradesmen. In London there is a company called the Letter Circular Delivery Company, formed entirely of those persons whose circulars were delivered by means of the company, as it would be illegal for any third party to interfere with the Post circulation; and here he might observe that, as the Post Office claimed a monopoly, that establishment ought either to deliver circulars at a moderate and economical rate or permit others to do so. One firm on Saturday sent to the company he had mentioned 50,000 circulars for distribution. Their charge was d. each for circulars, and d. for newspapers. There was also another society which assisted in the circulation of printed matter-namely, the Corps of Commissionaires, and their charge for delivery all over London was 5s. per 100 up to 1,000, and after 1,000 the charge was by a graduated scale to 1s. 6d. if the number exceeded 10,000. It had been suggested to him that he should go further than proposing a charge of d. for two ounces, and propose a charge of d. for one ounce. Such a result might ultimately be arrived at; but at present he thought it prudent to ask for a moderate concession, which he trusted would be granted, especially by a Government claiming so large a measure of support from the commercial interests of the country. It was only right that he should say that during last year he had repeated interviews with the then Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Hunt), and he was led to the conclusion that the right hon. Gentleman was of opinion that circulars and such-like matter should be carried at a cheaper rate, and that it was merely a question of time when such a change should be adopted. In his anxiety to obtain as much information on this subject as possible, he became conscious of a much larger and more interesting question lying behind, one having a great bearing on the social wellbeing of the people. While the postage of 1d. acted as a tax on the trade and industry of the country, it also operated as a serious tax on the education of the people and the diffusion of intelligence by restricting the circulation of newspapers and cheap serial productions, which are now so popular a part of the literature of the country. When the 1d. postage system was established, some thirty years ago, 1d. papers were not in existence, and the postage might then have borne a fair proportion to the cost of the article. But circumstances were now entirely altered. The number of newspapers published in 1838 was 444, and their total circulation amounted to 26,000,000. He believed he was correct Mr. Graves in saying that a single paper, n lished in London and printe morning, had a greater circulati year by some 10,000,000 copies whole circulation of newspapers In 1846 there were 555 newspap lished in the country, two of wh were sold at the price of 2d. In 1 number of papers published wa and of these 309 were publishe price of 1d. and under. In 18 number of newspapers publish 1,372, and of these 50 per cent w at 1d. and under. Of that eighty-nine were daily papers, ei which were published at 1d. or He had obtained these particula Mr. Mitchell, a gentleman who pu the Newspaper Press Directory. I also looked into the case with reg the periodicals and cheap serials lished in the metropolis, and he that there again literature was gra becoming cheaper and cheaper. were 198 newspapers and weekly cations printed in London; 75 at and five at d. Of monthlies there 364; ninety at a 1d. and twenty-f d., and all these 1d. and d. pu tions, with not half-a-dozen excep have a direct religious and tendency, their aim and object bei educate and elevate the people in rel and morality. There was a disap ance from the list of everything could be considered of an unwhole character. This was a most enco ing feature in the literature of present day, and presented a st argument in favour of moving the direction he now indicated to House. Foreign countries displaye entirely different policy, with regar this class of literature, to that adopte this country. Special facilities afforded for its circulation in al every other country, where it was garded as a means of improvement the people, and conferring upon th important social benefits. Belg charged one-tenth of a 1d.; had se daily deliveries in all large towns; throughout the country had one d very at every man's house daily. Italy the same rate was established. France one-fifth of a 1d. carried a ne paper everywhere, even to Algiers. Tuscany, the Netherlands, Brazil, Por gal, the charge was only one-four of a 1d.; while in Switzerland it w |