Signor Montferrato, who was relegated to the island of Merlera under the high police power in October, 1851, that I was willing to allow of his

return to Cephalonia upon a simple promise that he would abstain from taking any part in political agitation for the next twelve months. In making this proposal, I neither asked nor expected from Signor Montferrato any renunciation of former opinions, but made the condition of his release analogous to what would be termed in England, in the case of a man convicted of seditious practices, entering into his personal recognisances to keep the peace for one year. As Signor Montferrato, in his reply, which I have the honour to enclose, not only rejects this very reasonable proposal, but tells me plainly that as soon as he is freed from the bondage of high police, he shall devote all his energies to the prosecution of the work so violently interrupted until it is brought to its legitimate end-the liberation of his country,' I have no alternative but to leave him where he is, until

he learns to entertain more rational views."

Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands. For his (Lord John Russell's) part, he thought that the Governors of distant dependencies, who were called on to act in cases of difficulty, were entitled to have their case fairly stated by those who were entrusted with office at home, and that they should not be subjected to misrepresentation. He owned, therefore, that he was extremely pleased to find that the right hon. Gentleman had discharged his duty in this instance with such alacrity and with such ability. It ought always to be recollected that those persons who were opposing the Government in Zante were not opposing it for the sake of obtaining more liberty under that Government, but for the purpose of severing the connexion between them and the British Crown, and placing themselves under some other form of government. It ought also to be recollected with respect to the powers of high police, Sir Henry Ward had offered to relinquish them upon exceedingly liberal terms. These persons so complaining were only endeavouring to incite the people to insurrection against British authority, and Sir Henry Ward had erred rather upon the side of too great liberality than from any desire to exercise any undue authority.

These extracts would, he thought, convince the House that the object of these seditious enterprises was really to throw off the authority of Her Majesty, and to establish some other form of government. Now, as to the remonstrance of the Parliament, which had not long ago been brought under his consideration, he was surprised to see that it had only received three signatures; but, upon looking to Sir Henry Ward's despatch, he found a full explanation of this significant fact. Parliament MR. HUME said, he was very glad that there was constituted of several parties, as the noble Lord (Lord John Russell) had it was in this country, who had all joined spoken, because he and the Government for party purposes to resist the Govern- were all in the same boat upon this subment measures; but when the remon-ject: one was as bad as the other. Sir strance came to be signed, there were only found three persons who would join in the particular form of words in which it was drawn up. The ultra-liberal party would not agree to any form of remonstrance, as they believed, by subscribing to a document of that kind, they would be ac-it, he had prorogued them. They were knowledging the authority of the Crown of England, which they were by no means willing to do. Now, this showed how necessary it was to exercise caution in dealing with these gentlemen; and if the hon. Member for Montrose had applied to him in private, instead of making a public attack upon the Governor, he (Sir J. Pakington) would have at once assented to the production of the papers, and have shown him that the conduct of Sir Henry Ward, instead of having deserved censure, entitled him to great praise for his extreme moderation.

LORD JOHN RUSSELL said, he was glad that the right hon. Gentleman the Colonial Secretary had taken the present opportunity to defend the conduct of the

Henry Ward had offered to give up the powers of high police if they would give up the liberty of the press, and publish only what he pleased. This was the proposition which he had made to the Ionian Parliament; and because they had refused

quite right not to give up the palladium of their liberties. Sheridan, in one of his eloquent speeches, said, "Give me the liberty of the press, and I care not what you do-I will meet the strongest opposition." So far as to asking questions, they were all witnesses how he had been treated already. He would not expose himself to any insult, and all his questions should be put publicly. He pledged himself within ten days after those papers were laid upon the table of the House to bring the matter under its consideration. As to thirteen Members only voting with him, he would remind the right hon. Gentleman that in 1829 he proposed the repeal of the Corn Laws, and upon that occasion he was left in a minority of thirteen. He

had, however, lived to see that Motion tion of the right hon. Member for the carried.

MR. WALPOLE said, that it would probably be better, in the absence of his right hon. Friend, to postpone for the pre-experience of this matter in former Comsent the appointment of the Committee.

mittees, and he knew that, unless the Government stated for the consideration of the House the policy that was to be submitted to the Committee, their labours would be of very little use indeed, so far as any practical result was concerned.

MR. GLADSTONE entirely concurred in what had just fallen from his right hon. Friend the Member for Coventry. If the Motion for the Committee were agreed to, he took it for granted that the right hon. President of the Board of Trade would be ready to state the views of the Government before the names of the Committee were determined on; because it was quite certain, if there were one question more than another on which the House most absolutely required the guidance and assistance and restraint and control of the Government, it was the question of railway legislation. The Government and the House together had made but a very indifferent affair of it heretofore, and if a Committee were to attempt to go into the question without a previous declaration of the policy to be

adopted, they would become an instrument | would be desirable without full inquiry, he

House of Assembly. He had no objection

Home Department what had been the result of the inquiry undertaken by the Go-to proceed to answer the second and more vernment into the case of Leopold de Rose, a Polish officer, who was imprisoned in Winchester gaol at the instance of Captain Cospatrick Baillie Hamilton, R.N.

MR. WALPOLE, in reply, said, that after reading the evidence adduced at the committal of Mr. De Rose, he believed the magistrate could not have come to any other decision than that he had arrived at. At the same time, it was due to Mr. De Rose to state that, judging from communications subsequently received, and from new facts which had transpired relative to the case, he must say that he wished those facts had been brought under the consideration of the magistrate, the result of which, he believed, would have been that Mr. De Rose would have been acquitted of the charge then brought against him.

important question of which the hon. Baronet had been kind enough to give him ample notice; and he begged to state to the House that he felt very great regret that the forms of the House precluded him from accompanying his answer to that question with the explanation which it would be strongly his desire to give on this subject. Bound, however, as he was by those forms, he would only state to the hon. Baronet that Her Majesty's Government had given the fullest and most anxious consideration to this difficult and important subject, and to the whole of the circumstances under which the question had been forced upon their attention; and his answer was, that, considering that this was essentially an Upper Canadian question, and that the Representatives of Upper Canada were as nearly as possible equally divided upon the subject; consider..

Resolutions to which the hon. Baronet had referred consisted in a large proportion of Roman Catholic members of the lower province, whose religion had been amply and munificently endowed; considering that the Act of 1840 was proposed and accepted by all parties as a final settlement of this long-discussed and most difficult question; considering, above all, that that Act of 1840 was part of the arrangements which attended the Act of Union, and was intended to guard against those dangers to Protestant endowments which were dreaded at the time of the Act of Union;-considering all these circumstances, it was not the intention of Her Majesty's Government to introduce any Bill for the purpose of repealing the provisions of that Act.

THE CLERGY RESERVES IN CANADA. SIR WILLIAM MOLESWORTHI said,ing that the majority who had carried the in putting to the right hon. Secretary of State for the Colonies the question of which he had given notice, he must first ask whether the right hon. Gentleman had received an Address to the Crown to which the House of Assembly of Canada agreed on the 17th of September last, by a majority of fifty-four to twenty-two, and in which they assured Her Majesty that they deeply regretted to learn the contents of a despatch, in which the right hon. Baronet had stated that it was not the intention of Her Majesty's present Government to fulfil a promise which had been made to the Canadian Legislature by the late Government. That promise was, that Her Majesty's Government would recommend to Parliament that an Act should be passed to enable the Canadian Legislature to dispose of the proceeds of the Clergy Reserves, subject to the condition that the vested interests of persons should be secured during their lives. He wished to ask what were the present intentions of Her Majesty's Government, and whether they intended after Christmas to recommend to Parliament the measure which he had just described?

SIR WILLIAM MOLESWORTH said, he should then give notice that, immediately after the Christmas recess, he should move for leave to bring in a Bill to enable the Legislature of Canada to dispose of the proceeds of the Clergy Reserves, subject to the condition which he had just mentioned.

SUPPLY-THE BUDGET.
Order for Committee read.

The CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER: Sir, though the House has been pleased to honour the remarks which I have to make to-night with the title of

SIR JOHN PAKINGTON begged to say, in answer to the first question of the hon. Baronet, which had not, however, been mentioned in the notice-paper, that he had received from Canada the Address to which the hon. Baronet had referred," Financial Statement," and though I am and which was founded upon certain Reso- indisposed, under any circumstances, to lutions which had been adopted by the quarrel with the humour of the House,

may make, but will consider all that I offer as a whole, because as a whole it ought to be considered; and I trust that, in justice to myself, they will not, until the views of the Government are fairly placed before them, be carried away by any feeling of the moment, on whichever side they may sit, too precipitately to decide on the motives and principles of the policy which I may now have to set before them.

still I trust that hon. Members will have the kindness to recollect that it is a financial statement which has to be made under very peculiar circumstances; and, Sir, although we have, with respect to our finances, to consider to-night some very important topics-whether, for example, it is possible to make such changes in the mode of levying our revenue as may contribute more to the satisfaction and welfare of the community; whether such altera- Sir, we wished after the event of the tions can be effected in our method of taxa- last general election, understanding as we tion as may remove from various classes did from the result of that election that not an ill-founded sense of injury and in- the principle of unrestricted competition justice; and, above all, whether we may was entirely and finally adopted as the not take this opportunity of establishing principle of our commercial code-we our financial system upon principles more wished to consider our financial system adapted to the requirements of the times, in relation to our commercial system-to and especially to the industry of a country see whether they could not be brought pre-eminent for its capacity for labour more in harmony together, and whether, still, besides these, there are other topics in bringing them more in harmony togeto which I must advert, and which are not ther, we might not remove many wellstrictly of a financial nature. I hope the founded causes of discontent among the House will also remember that, even con- people of this country, and lay the foundasidering the remarks I have to offer to tion of a system which in future should their consideration merely in a financial not only be more beneficial, but which point of view, at the present moment we should enlist in its favour the sympathies are only arrived at the completion of about of all classes. Before, however, I take two-thirds of the financial year-a circum- that general view, I think it will be stance which naturally adds to the difficulty convenient that I should consider the I have to contend with. I hope, there- claims of those who believe that by fore, that under these circumstances hon. what we now familiarly describe as Members will not think it any evidence" recent legislation" they have received of conceit or affectation on my part if I do not on this occasion rigidly follow that routine form of exposition which a Chancellor of the Exchequer usually adopts at the termination or commencement of a financial year, when his duties are comparatively limited, and, I may say, comparatively simple; but, if I deviate from that course, I trust that they will attribute my proceeding to no other motive but a desire on my part, in dealing with these various important, and, in some cases, complicated subjects, to explain clearly to the House the views of Her Majesty's Government upon subjects of such great importance, and, so far as I have to touch upon the point, their opinion on the condition of the country. Sir, the task I have undertaken is, as the House is well aware, not a light one under any circumstances, and even under ordinary circumstances requires an appeal to the indulgence of the House. I am sure to-night I shall receive its generous indulgence; and the only favour I presume to ask of hon. Gentlemen on either side is, that they will not precipitately decide on any proposition which I

peculiar injury. It will, I think, be for the convenience of the House that we should dispassionately consider the position of those classes, and come to an opinion whether their complaints and claims are just or not-because, if we can arrive at some conclusions on these points, those classes who now assert that they have been injured by recent legislation, if their claims are impartially heard, and, if established, fairly met, will then merge in the mass of the community, and we shall hereafter have to consider no other claims than claims which represent the unanimous voice and feeling of the entire nation. Therefore, I repeat, it will not be an inconvenient course if I take the earliest opportunity of examining the claims urged by those great interests which have been peculiarly affected by recent changes in our commercial law-the shipping interest for example, the sugar-producing interest, and the agricultural interest-so far as the latter, irrespective of all other pleas, urges on the consideration of the House the fact that it is subjected to peculiar burdens and taxation. When we have discussed