of. The noble Duke, I think, com- and Dervish Pasha, the Sultan will do plained that I had not offered any ex- so as Sovereign of Egypt or as mandaplanation of this important measure. tory of the European Powers; and, in The fact is, I did offer an explanation either case, whether any and what guawhen I introduced the Bill-only the rantee has been taken by the Powers audience was exceedingly limited. At that the intervention thus made by the the suggestion of the noble Marquess Porte shall be strictly limited to, and (the Marquess of Salisbury), I have cease with, the suppression of the preadded a Memorandum to the Bill, which sent revolutionary movement? will give a far more lucid explanation than I could give. I do not know that there is anything else which has fallen from the noble Lord that renders it necessary for me to say more. I can only repeat my thanks to noble Lords for the spirit in which they have received this measure, and ask them to give it a second reading. I shall consult their convenience in naming a day for the Committee stage. SIR CHARLES W. DILKE: Sir, I think it only courteous to the hon. Member to say that I shall not be able to answer the Question. It is, no doubt, an extremely interesting Question, but I shall be quite unable to answer it. MR. BOURKE: I beg to give Notice that to-morrow I shall ask the Prime Minister, Whether His Majesty the Sultan has shown any indisposition to take those measures which the Go Motion agreed to; Bill read 2a accord-vernments of England and France have ingly, and committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Thursday the 29th instant. suggested to him for the restoration of order in Egypt, and to make good the authority of the Khedive; whether he will state the reasons which induced Her Majesty's Government to press the Sultan to consent to a Conference; and whether Her Majesty's Government will join in any demand the Powers may make upon the Sultan to act as their mandatory instead of as Sovereign of Egypt? MR. ONSLOW: I beg to give Notice that to-morrow I shall ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether it is true that the officers and men of Her Majesty's ship Superb who were killed in the recent outbreak were buried at sea, and why they were not buried at Alexandria; whether Her Majesty's Government have warned British subjects at Cairo, whose safety now depends upon Arabi Pasha, that they had better leave Egypt; and what arrangements have been made to receive the large number of European refugees now at Alexandria on board the ships of the fleet ? QUESTIONS. TURKEY AND GREECE-MURDER OF MR. H. SAMUELSON asked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether the Greek Government have yet instituted the long promised inquiry into the murder of Mr. Ogle; and, if not, whether Her Majesty's Go vernment will use their best endeavours | appear to have been proper mercantile to secure the earliest possible investiga- books. He was the son of a crofter, tion of the case, and the presence thereat of a representative of this country? SIR CHARLES W. DILKE: Her Majesty's Minister at Athens telegraphed on the 10th instant that the preliminary inquiry into the circumstances of Mr. Ogle's death had been actively carried out, and that the Greek Government were now prepared to proceed to an investigation at Volo, at which a British Representative would attend. Mr. Merlin, British Consul at the Piraeus, will accordingly be present at the inquiry, which will be proceeded with as soon as possible. residing in his father's house, and had ARREARS OF RENT (IRELAND) BILL THE IRISH CHURCH FUND. Secretary to the Treasury, If he will derived? MR. COURTNEY: The arrears on DEBTORS' (SCOTLAND) ACT, 1880-KEN-secution. NETH MACKENZIE, A BANKRUPT. DR. CAMERON asked the Lord Advocate, Whether his attention has been called to the deposition of the bankrupt, Kenneth Mackenzie, examined at Dingwall, in which he deponed that he was indebted to an amount exceeding two hundred pounds, but had no books or accounts, and that such books as he at one time kept he had burnt within four months of the presentation of a petition against him for cessio, and that he had written to one creditor offering to pay him ten shillings in the pound "if he would pretend to accept two shillings, and not tell the other creditors;" whether, under "The Debtors (Scotland) Act, 1880," it is a crime punishable by imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for a bankrupt, within four months next before the presentation of a petition for cessio, to have destroyed or mutilated any book, document, paper, or writing, relating to his property or affairs, or, if his debts exceed two hundred pounds, not to have kept such books or accounts as, according to the usual practice of his business, are necessary to explain his transactions, unless he proves to the satisfaction of the court that he had no intent to defraud; and, why no proceedings were taken by the Crown Office under that statute in Mackenzie's case? THE LORD ADVOCATE (Mr. J. B. BALFOUR): Sir, I have made inquiry into this matter. The deposition of Kenneth Mackenzie was made more than a year ago, on 3rd June, 1881. It contains the admissions set out in the Question. Mackenzie stated that he kept certain books in pencil; but they do not Mr. II. Samuelson the permanent income of the Irish Church Fund were, on the 1st of January, 1881, £156,000, and those on the 1st £148,000. These are accumulated arof January, 1882, are estimated at rears. I cannot admit the analogy implied in the latter part of the Question, and as yet no suggestion has been made for remission of the character indicated. ARMY (AUXILIARY FORCES)—MILITIA MR. O'SHAUGHNESSY asked the Secretary of State for War, Whether it is true that, on the compulsory retirement under 68A. Circular, January 1882, of militia surgeons holding commissions from lord lieutenants of counties, at the age of sixty-five, the pension of six shillings a day, to which, under certain circumstances, such surgeons were entitled to has been refused them; and, if he will explain under what enactment the right to this pension is alleged to have been destroyed? MR. CHILDERS: Sir, in reply to my hon. and learned Friend, I have to state that until 1829 Militia surgeons were members of the permanent Staff, and, like other officers of that Staff, entitled to pensions on reduction of the force, or on retirement through age or infirmity. But no Militia surgeon appointed since 1829-that is to say, during the last 53 years-has been entitled to a retiring allowance. Her Majesty has always had the power to decide at what age Militia officers should cease to serve, and in 1872 this age was fixed at 60, although retirement was not enforced in every case. In 1881 it was decided that at 65 all Militia surgeons must retire, this being a boon to them compared with other Militia officers. CRIMINAL LAW. RELEASE OF CRAWSHAY CRAWSHAY, A CONVICT. LORD GEORGE HAMILTON asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, If there was any special reason for discharging from custody a prisoner named Crawshay Crawshay, who was convicted of fraudulently embezzling public money belonging to the Heston and Isleworth Local Board, at the Central Criminal Court, on 2nd April 1881, when he had only served half his sentence; and, whether he was aware that at the above trial there were seven other similar indictments against the prisoner that were not proceeded with, and that the Recorder, in passing sentence, said, "Had the Board proceeded with the other Bills, and not recommended you to mercy, it would have been my duty to have sentenced you to penal servitude. You will go to prison for two years with hard labour ?" SIR WILLIAM HARCOURT, in reply, said, there were very special reasons for discharging this prisoner. Early in the present year the Recorder reported to him that, under the circumstances of the case, the prisoner should not have been convicted; that he had not had fair play, and that the testimony on which he was convicted was incorrect and misleading; and that, in his (the Recorder's) opinion, all further punishment ought to be remitted. In these circumstances, he had ordered the discharge of the prisoner. TRADE AND COMMERCE-TREATY OF COMMERCE WITH SPAIN. MR. HENRY LEE asked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether any progress has been made in securing for this Country, by means of the "most favoured nation clause," the Germany in the Treaty recently made by advantages obtained by France and them with the Government of Spain; whether he is aware that the difference between the terms given to France, and those accorded to nations not having a Treaty of Commerce, is from 35 to 70 per cent.; whether he can state the quantity of Spanish wine imported into Bordeaux during the past year; and, if he is aware that the Spanish wines are reduced in strength, adulterated, and coloured with a certain drug, in order to render them available for the English market? SIR CHARLES W. DILKE: Sir, Her Majesty's Government are not at present in a position to make public the nature of the exchange of ideas which is now taking place between the two Powers with the view to place their commercial relations on a better footing. I am aware that in the case of some goods the difference of rate of duty referred to does exist. The French official figures for 1881 of the import of Spanish wine into Bordeaux separately are not yet published; but the total importation of such wine was about 5,500,000 hectolitres, or five-sevenths of the imports from all countries. We are aware that both Spanish and Italian wines are largely mixed with French wines and with water, and exported to this and other countries; and, accord ing to M. Leroy Beaulieu's statement, | by only one man was a distinct violation they are also drunk in Paris; but it does of orders; and, although this appears to not appear to be usually necessary to have been done at his own urgent recolour the mixture in the case of Spanish quest, it should not have been allowed wines, which are often of very dark by the officer in charge. Arrangements colour. are being made by the Irish Government for the escorts being always on a separate vehicle from the person guarded. As to the arms being loaded, the instruction of the Commander of the Forces was that the rifles were not to be STATE OF IRELAND-THE MURDERS LORD EUSTACE CECIL asked the Secretary of State for War, Whether it is true, as stated in the "Times" correspondence from Ireland on Monday, that by a singular omission of the authorities the three dragoons appointed to protect the late Mr. Bourke were unprovided with horses, except at the expense of the person protected, the result having been that Mr. Bourke, bringing but one guard with him, and having him upon the same vehicle as himself, lost the advantage which a separate and double guard would have afforded him; whether it is true that in consequence of the regulation that no trooper is to carry his carbine loaded, unless at full cock, the practice is not to load until the occasion arises; and, if so, whether any alteration of the regulations in both matters is contemplated? SIR WALTER B. BARTTELOT asked the Secretary of State for War, with reference to the recent assassination of Mr. Bourke and his escort, Whether it was consistent with the orders given about escorts that only one man should be on that duty; whether Cavalry soldiers employed on escort duty should be mounted or dismounted; what order as to arms of escorts being loaded has been given; and, whether, if Corporal Wallace, of the Royal Dragoons, was married, any special allowance will be made to his widow or family; and, if so, whether such sum will be paid out of the Consolidated Fund or charged on the district in which the murder took place? MR. CHILDERS: Sir, it was no omission on the part of the authorities that the three men appointed to protect Mr. Bourke were unprovided with horses. Neither the Constabulary nor the soldiers employed on protection duty are mounted, as, in point of fact, they could not use their arms so well as when on foot or in cars. There is no intention whatever to make any change in this respect. Mr. Bourke's being escorted Sir Charles W. Dilke carried loaded except when immediate danger was apprehended. Sir Thomas Steele has now issued an order that the men's rifles are to be loaded. With reference to the last part of my hon. and gallant Friend's Question, I am sorry to say that I only this morning have heard that the widow of Corporal Wallace was not on the married establishment, he having married without leave. I will look further into the matter; but I fear that I cannot now say what ought to be done about her. DIPLOMATIC SERVICE—FOREIGN LAN GUAGES-THE EXAMINATION PAPERS. MR. JERNINGHAM asked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether his attention has been called to the unpractical, and even grotesque, nature of some of the Foreign papers set for translation to candidates for the Diplomatic Service; and, whether he sees his way to remedying the evil of the present system? SIR CHARLES W. DILKE: Sir, no complaint has been made of the nature of the Papers set for translation in examination for the Diplomatic Service; but my hon. Friend, perhaps, alludes to those set in a recent examination of Foreign Office clerks for special acquirements in foreign languages, which ap pear not of a kind to test the practical knowledge required, and to which the attention of the Civil Service Commissioners has been called. POST OFFICE- TELEPHONE LICENCES. THE O'DONOGHUE asked the Postmaster General, If, taking into account that nearly a month has elapsed since he informed the House that he was considering the application of the London and Globe Telephone and Maintenance Company, Limited, for a licence, he can now state the decision at which he has arrived; and, if not, within what period | the writ on the sheriff's assignment, the he expects to be able to announce his costs not being forthcoming. decision ? MR. FAWCETT: Sir, the question as to the granting of Telephone Exchange licences involves many important and difficult issues. The subject has been for some time engaging my careful attention; and, although I regret that I cannot fix the precise time when I shall be able to announce a decision, I can assure the hon. Member that there shall be no unnecessary delay. I could not, within the limits of an answer to a Question, state the points that have to be considered, nor do I think it expedient that they should now be stated. PEACE PRESERVATION (IRELAND) THE CITY OF LIMERICK. MR. O'SHAUGHNESSY asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether the magistrates of the borough of Limerick were given an opportunity of expressing their views to the Government on the state of that city before its late proclamation; whether they have, since the proclamation, addressed a protest to the Irish Government against that measure; whether the grounds of that protest have been considered, and, if not, whether they EVICTIONS (IRELAND) will be considered, by the Government; SHERIDAN, DRUMHALRY, GRANARD, and, whether the proclamation was the CO. LONGFORD. MR. JAMES result of private information in possession of the Government, or of the general condition of the city; and, if of the latter, whether he will state what circumstances of its condition have led to the step in question? MR. JUSTIN M'CARTHY asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Whether his attention has been called to the case of Mr. James Sheridan, of Drumhalry, in the barony of Granard, county of Longford, who was, on the 8th May, evicted from his land by the sheriff with a force of Constabulary; whether it is the fact that Mr. Sheridan was served with a writ in August 1881 for four years' rent; whe-ber will communicate with the authother he then produced a receipt for the greater portion of this rent at the trial, and the plaintiff, the owner of the land, obtained judgment in the Common Pleas Division for one half-year's rent, £12 58.; whether the sheriff sent Mr. Sheridan a notice that he had an order against him for £12 58. with 138. costs; whether Mr. Sheridan paid the amount of rent and costs, and holds the sheriff's receipt for the same; and, whether he can say under what circumstances Mr. Sheridan was evicted from his land on the 8th May? MR. TREVELYAN: Sir, a letter fully explaining all the facts of this case was addressed by the Lord Lieutenant to the Mayor of Limerick on the 10th instant. If the hon. and learned Mem MR. TREVELYAN: Sir, Mr. Sheridan's landlady obtained a writ for a sum of £12 58. The sheriff sold the interest in trust for the landlady. Sheridan did not attend the sale, but afterwards went to the sheriff and asked him to take the money from him and forego the sale. The sheriff consented, but informed Sheridan at the same time that there would be additional costs, which Sheridan agreed to pay, but afterwards refused, on being informed of their amount. Subsequently, the agent got rities of Limerick he will learn the nature of that letter, which, I think, answers the first three paragraphs of his Question. The city was proclaimed under the Act 6 Will. IV., c. 15, as in a state of disturbance, with a view of extra police being sent there on the recommendation of the County Inspector of Constabulary, after consulting and with the concurrence of the Resident Magistrate permanently stationed there, and the Special Resident Magistrate of the district. MR. O'SHAUGHNESSY asked whether the proclamation was the result of private information in the possession of the Government or of the general condition of the city? MR. HEALY: Before the right hon. Gentleman answers that Question, I should like to ask whether the Special Resident Magistrate is Mr. Clifford Lloyd? MR. TREVELYAN: I have received no information relating to the general state of the city; but I hold in my hand a long list of riots and assaults on the |