MAJOR STUART KNOX said, he would | communication to his Royal Highness the appeal to the hon. Member to further post- Field Marshal Commanding-in-Chief relapone the discussion of the subject. He tive to the Resolution lately passed by the himself was one of the bench of magistrates House on the subject of Military flogging, whose conduct was impugned; and though and has invited his Royal Highness's conhe was not present on the occasion, yet sideration of the subject? he knew very well that every one of his brother magistrates were persons of the highest character. ["Order, order!"] MR. SPEAKER explained to the hon. Member that he was out of order in discussing a Question which was not properly before the House. MAJOR STUART KNOX said, he hoped that the hon. Member's sense of justice would induce him to postpone the Motion, in order that he (Major Stuart Knox) might have time to procure the necessary information from Tyrone, which he was sure would enable him to refute every word alleged against the magistrates. SIR JOHN GRAY said, that as his only wish was to ascertain whether justice had been done, he had no objection to postpone the Question till Thursday, when he would put it on going into Committee of Supply. WEST INDIA COLONIES-GRANTS FOR RELIGIOUS PURPOSES.-QUESTIONS. MR. W. E. FORSTER said, he wished to ask the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, Whether he can lay upon the table of the House a Return of the sums paid out of the Colonial Revenues of the different West India Colonies for religious purposes in the years 1864 and 1865; specifying the amount given to each religious denomination; also, Copies of the Colonial Acts or Ordinances under which such payments are made; and, also, whether he can inform the House if there be any fees, rates, or dues levied by Law for religious purposes in Jamaica; and, if so, under what conditions? MR. ADDERLEY replied, that all the information required was already published in the several blue books of the colonies; but he had no objection to its being taken out and placed in one Return, if possible. There were some fees of the character referred to, but he was not aware under what conditions they were levied. ARMY-FLOGGING-H.R.H. THE COM SIR JOHN PAKINGTON: I have, Sir, no objection whatever to state, in answer to the hon. Member's Question, that I have had communication with his Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief with respect to the Resolution to which the hon. Member refers; but I am sure the hon. Gentleman will excuse me if I say that I must reserve to myself a discretion as to the time when I shall inform this House of the result of that communication. REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE BILL-WEDNESBURY AND WEST BROMWICH.-QUESTION. MR. H. B. SHERIDAN said, he would beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exche quer, Whether his attention has been drawn to the following statement of statistics with reference to Wednesbury, a town proposed to be enfranchised under the present Reform Bill, and West Bromwich, an adjoining town, namely:-That Wednesbury in 1861 contained 4,057 inhabited houses, West Bromwich 8,109; Wednesbury in 1861 had a population of 21,968, West Bromwich 41,795; that West Bromwich is the head of the Poor Law Union of which Wednesbury forms a small part; that West Bromwich is governed by special Improvement Acts, is rated to the poor in £107,000 per annum, has most important local manufactures, and between 1821 and 1861 increased in population from 9,505 to 41,795; that by the last Census West Bromwich contains 3,000 more inhabited houses than the highest of the proposed Boroughs and 6,400 more than the lowest, and has 13,000 more inhabitants than the most populous of such Boroughs and 29,500 more than the least; and, whether, if these statistics are to be relied upon and are, in fact, correct, he will have any objection to reconsider the question of enfranchisement with reference to Wednesbury, and either enfranchise West Bromwich or make some arrangement between West Bromwich and Wednesbury which will recognise the claims of West Bromwich to enfranchisement? MANDER-IN-CHIEF.-QUESTION. THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEMR. DARBY GRIFFITH said, he QUER: I understand, Sir, the Question would beg to ask the Secretary of State of the hon. Gentleman to refer to the for War, Whether he has made any official comparative claims of Wednesbury and REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE- QUESTION. West Bromwich to representation in this House. I fear that the hon. Gentleman, who I know has great claims upon his time, has not been able to give his attention to the character of the schedules to CAPTAIN WHITE said, he would beg the Bill. If he had done so he would have to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, found that though the district was to have Whether the Statements made by him in the title of Wednesbury, the constituency the House that it is the intention of Goreferred to was really to consist of the in-vernment to increase the Representation habitants of both Wednesbury and West Bromwich. of Scotland, and also that "the improved Representation of Scotland is not to be satisfied by the sacrifice of English interests," are to be explained by an inten DISTURBANCES IN IRELAND-REV. MR. tion on the part of Her Majesty's Govern MAGINN.-QUESTION. MR. WHALLEY said, he wished to ask the Chief Secretary for Ireland, Whether it is the fact that the Reverend Mr. Maginn, Roman Catholic Priest of Glenbegh, refused to be sworn as a witness on the inquiry relative to the affray in which Police Constable Duggan was shot, stating as the ground for such refusal that when he met the Fenians in Glenbegh he was acting as a Priest, and that he did not know any of the parties as he put a handkerchief over his eyes, the said Mr. Maginn being the person referred to by the Chief Secretary for Ireland on the 18th February as having acted boldly and loyally; and, further, that the Roman Catholic Bishop Moriarty, also referred to by the Chief Secretary as having "cursed" the Fenians, has expressed his entire approval of the conduct of the said Mr. Maginn in so refusing to be sworn; and, whether any further steps have been taken or are intended to be taken to obtain the evidence of the said Mr. Maginn? LORD NAAS, in reply, said, he was not aware that any particular inquiry had been instituted into the occurrence to which the hon. Gentleman referred. If, as was implied by the form of notice which he had given the day before, Sub-constable Duggan had died, then, of course, an inquiry would take place; but as, he was happy to say, Duggan was now recovering, no coroner's inquest on his body had been held. No official information had reached the Government of any such occurrence as that indicated in the Question. MR. WHALLEY: Did the noble Lord mean to say that there had been no inquiry made with respect to the affray in which Duggan had been shot? LORD NAAS: There has been no particular inquiry; but informations have, of course, been taken in the case. ment to diminish the number of Irish Representatives? THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHE QUER: Sir, when I first read this Question I thought it was probably intended to the hon. and gallant Gentleman as to the convey a friendly intimation on the part of tion of Scotland might be supplied; but it source whence the increased Representacertainly is not the intention of the Government to provide that increased representation at the expense of the sister country. CAPTAIN SPEIRS said, he would beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will inform the House as to the source from which he intends to provide the promised additional Representation for Scotland? County Voters will be disfranchised by the | so conflicting, and so complicated that no same process; and, whether he can say how many £10 Voters will be added to the constituency of the Tower Hamlets when incorporated with the parish of West Ham? MANAGEMENT OF SCOTCH BUSINESS IN PARLIAMENT.-QUESTION. MR. BAXTER said, he would beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, If any changes are contemplated in the management of Scotch business in the House of Commons? It was not generally known by hon. Members in other parts of the United Kingdom that the Lord Advocate was not only the Attorney General for Scotland, having very important and varied legal duties to perform, but he was also expected to take charge of the general civil administration of that part of the Empire, with only a nominal responsibility to the Home Office. The Lord Advocate, in fact, was the political dictator of Scotland. What he wanted to lay before the House was, that there existed a very strong, reasonable, continual, and increasing feeling of dissatisfaction in Scotland with regard to political matters, that so much power, patronage, and legislative responsibility should be placed in the hands of a practising lawyer, whose ordinary duties were onerous enough and quite sufficient to occupy his whole time, without casting upon him other functions which he could not adequately perform. The Lord Advocate of Scotland was always one of the most distinguished members of the Scotch bar, with a large practice before the courts in Edinburgh, which rendered it quite impossible for him to be at all times present in London when those courts were sitting. Three years ago the hon. Member for Ayrshire truthfully described the duties of the Lord Advocate as being so diverse, parallel to them could be found either in England or in Ireland. That hon. Gentleman then moved for a Select Committee to bring about a change. In 1858, he (Mr. Baxter) submitted a Resolution to the House that one Under Secretary of State should be appointed in the Home Office to perform the functions and the political duties of the Lord Advocate; but the matter was not understood by the House, and they would not accept the proposal though many Scotch Members had voted in its favour. The question, perhaps, was not then ripe for discussion; but circumstances had since occurred which might ensure a more favourable answer to his He inquiry. In the year 1858 petitions and memorials had been sent up from all parts of Scotland advocating the proposed change. The people of that country generally were persuaded that no measure was more likely to prove beneficial to them than one of that character, which would have the effect of relieving them from the domination of a few Scotch lawyers. In 1858 he had ventured to say that the time might come when the Lord Advocate would not have a seat in that House. That statement was received with a smile of incredulity; but it was the fact that at the present moment the Lord Advocate had not a seat in the House of Commons, and the consequence was that Scotch business had come to an entire dead-lock in that House. was aware that the Home Secretary was nominally responsible for the conduct of Scotch business; but the right hon. Gentleman, when asked a question on Scotch business, appeared perfectly helpless. This state of things could not be permitted to go on much longer. If he were rightly informed, the Government had a number of important Bills in readiness with reference to Scotland, but there was no one to take charge of them; and he believed that for the future there was less chance of the Lord Advocate obtaining a seat in that House. He knew that it was objected that a Scotch lawyer was needed to take charge of the Scotch Parliamentary business, because it was invariably of a technical nature connected with the peculiarities of Scotch law. He denied that that was the case, and during the twelve years he had sat in the House he had noticed that the great majority of the Scotch measures introduced had been of that nature that, had they related to England, no one would have thought of placing them in the hands of the Attorney General, as they would] naturally have fallen to the province of the Home Secretary. The financial part of the question, as relating to the salary of the Under Secretary of State for Scotland, or by whatever title the new officer might be called, was comparatively of little importance. If the change could be made, the money necessary for it would be well expended; but, as the First Scotch Lord of the Treasury received £1,000 a year, and the Secretary to the Lord Advocate £350, he did not see the necessity for any great increase of expenditure. He hoped that the Government would take his suggestion into consideration, and he could assure them that the Scotch people would be grateful if the Government took the present opportunity of putting an end to a system which was most unpopular in Scotland. SIR ROBERT ANSTRUTHER said, he believed that the Lord Advocate, if he were present in the House, would admit that the amount of business he was called on to transact, both in London and Edinburgh, was of such a nature and extent that it was next to impossible that it could receive that attention which its importance demanded. The fact of the Lord Advocate having no seat in the House had at last brought the matter to a crisis, for it was impossible that the Home Secretary could be conversant with the details of Scotch business. It was not too much to expect that some Scotch Member might have the opportunity of taking part in the official transaction of Scotch business, and that that business should not be solely placed in the hands of the legal profession. He made these remarks in the most friendly spirit both towards the present and past Lords Advocate. He had no objection whatever to make to the present Lord Advocate; on the contrary, he entertained the highest respect for his character and abilities; but it was impossible that any man in his position could properly discharge the political duties committed to his hands. MR. CUMMING BRUCE said, he could entirely endorse the observations which had been made on this subject, and he most sincerely trusted that the Home Secretary would take the matter into serious consideration. MR. DUNLOP said, he wished to express his concurrence in what had fallen from the hon. Member for Montrose (Mr. Baxter.) COLONEL SYKES said, he could bear testimony to the great inconvenience incurred by Scotch Members in having to trot to the Lord Advocate's office in Spring Gardens if they had to ask a question about Scotch business. The absence from that House of the officer responsible for that business was an intolerable nuisance. MR. HENRY BAILLIE said, he hoped that the right hon. Gentleman would consider the propriety of appointing an Under Secretary of State for Scotland. The fact was that the Scotch were the most lawyer-ridden and priest-ridden people in the world, and they were anxious to emancipate themselves at least from the dominion of the lawyers. Complaint was made on the score of the Lord Advocate not having a seat in the House; but he considered that if he had a seat he would be of very little use, inasmuch as the duties he had to perform in Edinburgh were such that he could not possibly, with satisfaction to Scotch Members, take charge of the Scotch business that came before the House. MR. M'LAREN said, he believed that in Edinburgh the feeling in favour of the suggestion of the hon. Member for Montrose was as extensive as in any part of Scotland. About fifteen years ago a large public meeting was held in Edinburgh, at which the Lord Advocate presided, and a memorial to the Government was decided upon, which was subscribed by large numbers of the inhabitants. The Town Council, the Chamber of Commerce, and other public bodies also memorialized the Government on the subject. He was of opinion that the Home Secretary could not do a more popular act, as regarded all parties in Scotland, than accede to the suggestion made by his hon. Friend the Member for Montrose. MR. CRUM-EWING said, he could assure the right hon. Gentleman the Secretary of State for the Home Department that in the great city of Glasgow, of which he was a citizen, and in the burgh which he had the honour to represent, but one feeling prevailed, and that was strongly in favour of the recommendation of his hon. Friend. MINES AND MINERS. MR. G. CLIVE said, he rose to call attention to the Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the condition of "Resolution 1. That there is a great excess of sickness and mortality among metalliferous miners which is mainly attributable to the imperfect ventilation of the mines. 2. That several other causes, both general and local, largely contribute to impair the health of the miner—namely, tions of temperature, wearing wet clothes, inhalaexposure to cold and wet, and to sudden alternation of gritty particles, and the exertion of climbing ladders from great depths." all Mines in Great Britain, to which the they had it here, for that Report for all Act 23 & 24 Vict. does not apply. He practical purposes hitherto might as well considered the condition of the mining po- not have been made. Let him call attenpulation, particularly in Cornwall, Wales, tion to the following Resolutions :and the North of England, as very unsatisfactory. The state of things was very serious; the men employed in the mines were prematurely old, and communicated their infirmities to their offspring. Through the indomitable perseverance of the hon. Member for Perth (Mr. Kinnaird), his right hon. Friend the Member for Morpeth (Sir George Grey), then Secretary of State for the Home Department, thought it desirable to issue a Royal Commission, the Members of which, at great personal risk and inconvenience, visited the various localities, and came to a most con And here he would remark that in metal- clusive Report. They reported in 1864; their Report was unanimous and very strong; but hitherto nothing had been done on the subject. The conclusions at which they had arrived deserved the serious attention of the House and of the Government. They had found that in metalliferous mines the men in many cases lived twenty years less than the general mass of our population. That excessive mortality was caused, not by any sudden and violent accidents, such as often occurred in collieries, but by the generally unhealthy influences to which the men were exposed. Among the principal of those fatal agencies was imperfect ventilation, and that amidst circumstances which must in any case be unfavourable to the maintenance of health. The miners had frequently to work at a temperature of not less than 100, and they were further subject to the alternate visitations of foul air, and of bitter and sweeping draughts. The Commissioners had recommended the adoption of regulations for the removal or the mitigation of those evils, and it was manifestly desirable that those regulations should as speedily as pos-register, or from your own observation ?-From sible be adopted. MR. KINNAIRD said, the statement the hon. Gentleman had made relative to the lamentable occurrence that had lately taken place must satisfy the House that there was a great call for legislation upon this subject. But the necessity for legis. lation was not limited to coal mines. There the danger forced itself on public attention by the wholesale sacrifice of life that too frequently took place, but the metalliferous mines equally required attention. The Report of the Commissioners in 1864 demonstrated this fact; but if they wanted a proof of the necessity of Reform sioners ? As an il "Mr. Richard Burford Searle, M.R.C.S.: Are you well assured of that?-I was looking over my list to-day, and I came to that conclusion. It is remarkable how the children die off here.— Chairman; Is that conclusion drawn from the my own observation.-Mr. Kendall: As far as your experience goes, do the children of the miners die more under three years of age than the decidedly. To what do you attribute that? children of the agriculturists? - Yes; most Why should a miner's child be more subject to die under three years of age than the child of an agriculturist ?-Because the father is generally in a more infirm state of health. The state cidedly. Mr. James Jago, M.D., Oxon, questioned of health of the miner tells upon the offspring deby the Chairman: From your observations in the examination of miners, should you say that their illness was the effect of working in impure or poisonous air?-Looking at the anomic and and other facts as to his breathing-and I have pasty colour of the miner, which is very peculiar, seen them come to me excessively weak, when I |