of Ireland by this test. The result of a body of
statistics showed a contrast between the ample provision
made for the religious instruction of a small minority,
the members of the Established Church, and the spiritual
destitution of the great body of the people, being Roman
Catholics. He dwelt at much length upon various
details connected with this disproportion, and suggested
a scheme for augmenting the funds at the disposal of the
ecclesiastical commissioners, proposing that there should
be two other ecclesiastical commissioners, a Roman
Catholic and a Presbyterian, to which separate funds
should be paid out of the aggregate fund for rebuilding
and repairing churches and chapels; that other funds
should be applied to the purchase of glebes for Roman
Catholics and Presbyterian ministers; and that the
clergy of those churches should be corporations, like
those of the Established Church. He concluded the
general outline of the bill by disclaiming all sectarian
feeling or hostility to the Established Church, his only
desire being to promote, by reasonable and practicable
arrangements, the settlement of a question which had
been a difficulty to all governments.—Mr. BROTHERTON
moved that the debate be adjourned.—Mr. NAPIER
pledged himself to show, when the debate was resumed,
that the statement made by Mr. Shee was capable of a
complete refutation, and that the motion was contrary
not only to every principle of the constitution, but to
the oath taken by Mr. Shee.—Sir J. YOUNG would
likewise be prepared to state the reasons why he should
resist the introduction of the bill.—After some further
conversation the debate was adjourned until Monday.

On Wednesday, June 14, on the order for the second
reading of the Church Rates Bill, Mr. PACKE announced
his intention to withdraw it. The session, he said, was
too far advanced to warrant the expectation that it could
be carried through both houses; but at the commencement
of the next session, unless he had an assurance
that the government would bring in a measure upon the
subject, he should ask leave to introduce a bill on the
same principle as the present. A discussion of the subject
was stopped by the Speaker, as irregular, and the
order was discharged.

On Thursday, June 15, on going into committee on
the amended Oxford University Bill, Lord J. RUSSELL
announced the intention of the government to add two
commissioners to the five named in the bill; he reserved
their names until the report.—Mr. WALPOLE expressed
his satisfaction at the alterations made in the bill, which
he thought would insure its passing during this session.
—Mr. HORSMAN considered that the principle of the
bill, as it stood at present, was different from that to
which the house had given its assent; that the compulsory
principle had been abandoned, and that the bill was
now merely an enabling bill.—In the discussion which
arose upon the 31st clause, the CHANCELLOR of the
EXCHEQUER, confessed that the pressure put upon the
government had reduced them unwillingly to the
alternative of a modified bill or no bill at all.—Mr. BLACKETT
lamented that this had been converted into a
permissive measure, and attributed the failure of the
original bill, not to the power of its opponents, but to the
want of energy among its supporters. He believed the
extent of the alterations was not sufficiently appreciated.
—Lord J. RUSSELL said the alterations in the bill were,
in the opinion of the government, alterations for the
worse; but they were necessary in consequence of the
votes of a majority of the house. If the provisions of
the original bill had been supported by a majority, he
should not have despaired of carrying the measure
through this session; but when it was obvious that it
had been altered in several important particulars, and
every clause occupied a long time in discussion, the
question arose whether the bill should be given up
altogether or altered, and the government had come to
the conclusion that it would be better to alter the bill,
which in its present shape effected many amendments,
and laid the foundation of future improvements.

On Friday, June 16, the house again went into
committee on the Oxford University Bill, the remaining
clauses of which were agreed to, with a few unimportant
amendments.—Mr. Roundel! PALMER then moved to
insert a new clause, enacting that, before any college or
the commissioners make any regulation for the abolition
of any privilege or right of preference in elections to
college emoluments now belonging to any school, two
months' notice shall be given to the governing body of
such school and to the charity commissioners, and no
such regulation shall be made if two-thirds of such
governing body or such commissioners shall declare that
it would be prejudicial to such school.—The CHANCELLOR
of the EXCHEQUER opposed this clause. There was, he
said, a provision in the bill by which all persons
interested in these endowments were secured an impartial
hearing before a committee of the privy council, which
he thought a sufficient protection; he objected likewise
to the principle of the clause, and questioned its
practicability.—Lord J. RUSSELL observed, that the direct
effect of the clause was to preserve the privileges of bad
schools.—After a warm debate, in which the clause was
supported by Sir W. Heathcote, Mr. R. Phillimore, Mr.
Lockhart, Mr. Walpole, Sir T. Acland, Mr. Wigram,
and Admiral Walcot, and opposed by the Solicitor-
General and Mr. John M'Gregor, the committee divided,
when the clause was carried (against the government),
by 160 to 108.

On Monday, June 19, Mr. STRUTT entered into some
personal explanations regarding his Recent Exclusion
from the Ministry. He had accepted office after much
entreaty and without conditions, and had devoted his
whole time to the performance of its duties. On his
returning to town after the Whitsuntide recess he was
informed by the Premier that certain changes of an
important nature had occurred in the cabinet, and the
completion of those changes involved the appointment of
another person to the Chancellorship of the Duchy of
Lancaster. All the arrangements, he found, were already
made in anticipation of his consenting to resign that
office. Under these circumstances no alternative but
resignation was possible, and he therefore resigned, but
declared, in contradiction to various rumours on the
subject, that his departure from office was as perfectly un-
conditional as his original acceptance had been, and said
that he had never been consulted respecting the new
ministerial arrangements before they were accomplished.

The house then went into committee on the Oxford
University Bill, resuming the discussion of the
additional clauses.—Lord J. RUSSELL announced
that the two new commissioners who were to be
appointed would be Lord Harrowby and Mr. G. C. Lewis.—
Mr. BLACKETT moved the insertion of a clause abrogating
all the oaths taken in the university upon admission to
offices or emoluments.—The CHANCELLOR of the
EXCHEQUER contended that the subject was one which
should be most appropriately determined by the college
authorities.—On a division, the clause was negatived by
a majority of 109 to 71—38.— Another clause provided
that no person should have priority in passing his
examination, or taking a degree, on account of his rank, was
proposed by Mr. J. G. PHILLIMORE, and negatived by
the narrow majority of one; the votes standing, ayes
66, noes 67.—Other clauses were successively presented
and discussed, but ultimately all were withdrawn, and
the bill passed through committee. The report was
ordered to be brought up on Thursday.

The house then went into committee of supply. A vote
of £164,165 being proposed for the maintenance of Gaols,
Bethlehem Hospitals, and Pauper Lunatic Asylums.
—Mr. SCHOLEFIELD moved as an amendment, that the
vote should be reduced by £100, being the amount of the
salary of the chaplain in a lunatic asylum. Referring
to the vote passed some days since retrenching the item
allowed for the ministrations of Roman Catholic priests
in prisons, he wished to test the principle by proposing
a similar reduction in the case of a protestant chaplain.
This amendment provoked considerable discussion, in
the course of which Lord PALMERSTON confessed to
having experienced much surprise and pain at the
division on the former occasion, and deprecated the
renewal of a controversy from which unfortunate
inmates of prisons and asylums must be the sufferers.
—On a division, the amendment was negatived by 246
votes to 23—223. The vote, as originally proposed,
was then agreed to.

On Tuesday, June 20, Mr. CHAMBERS again brought
forward the Claims of the Baron de Bode, and moved
a resolution, that national good faith requires that these