MR. MONK asked, Whether the Greek Papers would contain any despatches in reference to Crete, or whether any Papers relating to Crete might be expected? the information in my power. If, however, he alludes to communications which have been passing between Her Majesty's Government and our Ambassador at Paris, I am sure he will see MR. BOURKE replied that the Greek that it would be impossible for me to Papers did not contain any despatches give even the faintest idea of what those relating to Crete. That subject had communications are about, as they are, been treated by itself, and Papers were of course, confidential. Therefore, in being prepared with regard to it. A the present state of affairs, I do not Blue Book had already been published think I can give him any more informarelating to Crete, and it was proposed to tion than I have already given-namely, continue to keep the despatches respect- that there is no ground for the allegaing Crete separate from the Greek tion that there is any substantial differPapers. ence in the policy of the two Govern EGYPT-THE FRENCH AND ENGLISH MR. OTWAY: I wish to ask the hon. Gentleman the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs a Question of which I have given him private Notice, Whether any communication has been received by Her Majesty's Government relating to the tone of an influential portion of the French Press, and especially of the newspapers intimately connected with the present Administration in France, towards Her Majesty's Government on account of their policy and proceedings in Egypt; and, whether there is anything in the present relations of the two Governments which justifies the hostile tone of those French journals, which are usually most friendly towards this country? MR. BOURKE: I am sure my hon. Friend and the House will be glad to hear that there is nothing in the communications which have passed between the Government of France and the Government of England that can give grounds for the allegation that there is any difference whatever in the policy of the two Governments with respect to Egypt. We really know nothing of any of the alleged disagreements which have taken place. MR. OTWAY: The hon. Gentleman has only answered a portion of my Question. He has left unanswered that part which asks whether any communications have been received by Her Majesty's Government relating to this matter? MR. BOURKE: The hon. Gentleman is usually so fair in the Questions which he puts in regard to foreign affairs, that I should be very willing to give him all ments. WELLINGTON COLLEGE-THE COM MISSION.-QUESTION. In reply to Mr. J. R. YORKE, MR. ASSHETON CROSS said, the Government were willing that the Commission which had been asked for by the House should be issued at once. The names were very nearly settled; but they had not yet been submitted to Her Majesty. There would be no further delay, and he hoped that immediately after the Recess the Commission would begin its labours. TURKEY-CONSUL BLUNT'S REPORT. QUESTION. LORD ELCHO asked, When Consul Blunt's long-promised Report would be laid on the Table of the House? MR. BOURKE: The House is well aware that this Report has been prepared for many months, and is quite ready for presentation to Parliament; but that for reasons which it is not necessary I should enter into it has not been presented. Her Majesty's Government have no objection to present it; and I hope I shall be able after the holidays to tell my noble Friend that the Government have come to a decision on the subject. number of hon. Members who frequently | the statements in the morning newssat on the cross-benches below the Bar. papers to which the hon. Member refers. A few evenings ago, Mr. Speaker had I had other business to attend to which ruled an hon. Member to be out of prevented me from reading the papers. Order in attempting to address the House My right hon. and gallant Friend the from those seats, on the ground that Secretary of State for War informs me they were outside the House. He had that he believes Dragoons have been it on the authority of some Members sent to Standerton, but I do not know who had sat in the House for a great for what reason. As to the other matter number of years that in former days to which the hon. Member refers, I canthere was one hon. Member who was in not give any information. the habit of addressing the House from those seats, and that it was in the power of any hon. Member, if so minded, to address the House from any portion of the Gallery. He thought it would be for the convenience of the House generally if Mr. Speaker would state why those seats were debarred from privileges which belonged to other seats in the House ? MR. SPEAKER: I am unable to give any reason for the practice to which I referred the other day; but it has been the practice, so far as I am informed, that Members without the Bar--that is to say, on the other side of the Bar that passes across the House from one side to the other-cannot address the House from the seats referred to. It is open to Members to address the House from all other seats exclusively appropriated to the use of Members, including those in the Gallery. SOUTH AFRICA-THE ZULU WAR THE TRANSVAAL.-QUESTION. MR. O'DONNELL: I wish to put a Question to the right hon. Gentleman the Secretary of State for the Colonies of which I have given him private Notice. I desire to ask him, Whether he has received any official corroboration of the statement in the "Standard" of yesterday, that the Zulus have burned. the grass in their country, thus rendering the advance of the Cavalry impossible. Also, if he has received any official corroboration of a statement in the correspondence of the "Times," that a portion of the Cavalry-the Dragoons has been sent into the Transvaal for the purpose of overawing the Boers. SIR MICHAEL HICKS-BEACH: A moment ago, I received from the doorkeeper the Notice of the hon. Member's Question. I submit that that is not a sufficient Notice of a Question to be asked in this House. I have not seen Mr. C. Beckett-Denison PARLIAMENT — PUBLIC BUSINESS DOGS REGULATION (IRELAND) BILL. QUESTION. MAJOR NOLAN asked the Chief Seretary for Ireland, When the second reading of the Dogs Regulation (Ireland) Bill would be taken? MR. J. LOWTHER: The hon. and gallant Gentleman appears very anxious to know when this Bill is to be proceeded with; but I am afraid I cannot tell him, because, of course, that will depend on the state of Business. I shall be glad to give him notice before the day is fixed. of a Minister of the Crown at Question | spirit of that noble despatch which the time, he did not follow up his Question, Secretary of State for the Colonies wrote though the right hon. Gentleman, he to Sir Bartle Frere condemnatory of must admit, had made an answer which, his policy? If the papers were to be in a great degree, was satisfactory. But trusted, and if they could believe all he rose now, as they were about to ad- they heard, it was almost too late, for journ, to ask the Government to follow Zululand had been again invaded by up-as he hoped the Government would the Imperial Forces, who had waited -the exceedingly grateful and welcome and waited until they had a powerful announcement which was made near the and overwhelming strength at their close of their proceedings on the day command. During all these weeks the before by the right hon. Baronet the Zulu King seemed to have avoided reSecretary of State for the Colonies, and taliatory measures upon their Colonial which had been confirmed so far by Possessions. If he were animated by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The such bloodthirsty designs as would warlatter right hon. Gentleman dealt, how-rant the Government in that which was ever, with only these two points-that no annexation of territory was to be attempted in South Africa, and that there was a benevolent intention to end the war if Cetewayo made overtures for peace. He had no doubt in the world of that intention on the part of the Government. He did not believe that the Government were anxious to prolong this war for one day longer than they, in their policy, thought necessary; and it was to their policy that his Question had been directed. The real pith and substance of the Question had been put to the Government on the previous night by the right hon. Baronet the Member for Tamworth (Sir Robert Peel). Would the terms of peace imposed, or sought to be imposed, upon Cetewayo be such as to cause the war to be a protracted and bitter one, or a short war with a happy ending? They knew the terms of peace offered to Cetewayo before the invasion; and they now desired to know whether the circumstances of the moment warranted the Government in desiring to conclude peace on terms less exigent or more exigent than those that were put into Sir Bartle Frere's Ultimatum to Cetewayo? The Government must know the terms of peace which Sir Garnet Wolseley would be empowered to offer. Were they to be less or more severe than those which Cetewayo from first to last had from us? It was no use to say that they were ready to receive proposals for peace; that was merely a civil phrase, and amounted to nothing. What the country desired to know was whether the Government intended to put upon Cetewayo the same rude terms that drove him into the war; or would they give him a chance of coming in upon terms more nearly reflecting the now about to be done, he had his opportunity of giving effect to them, but he had not availed himself of it. No; in his own rude, barbaric way, the man had been silently making an appeal to their chivalry and generosity, and there was that about to happen which would prevent him from sueing for peace. Unless something was done they would be in the midst of scenes of carnage and bloodshed and the havoc of war, and they would find Cetewayo, if he were the brave man he took him to be, sealing his own lips and saying he would make no further offer to us. He urged the Government to make every effort to bring about a speedy peace, and not allow Cetewayo to say that when we were weak he allowed us to wait without attacking us, but when we were strong we invaded his country once more. The Government should not wait for the advent of Sir Garnet Wolseley in South Africa before they made an attempt to conclude peace, if that was their object. He made that appeal in no embittered spirit; but he would say that at the outset of the war it was intensely unjust, and now the time had arrived when the Government should terminate the struggle, and not bring disgrace upon the British flag by prolonging the war. MR. KNATCHBULL-HUGESSEN did not yield to anyone in the desire that such terms should be offered to the Zulu King as might lead to the termination of the war, on conditions consistent with the safety of our Colonists and compatible with that humanity which was as creditable to a great country as was the utmost display of bravery. At the same time, however, he was sensible of the great responsibility which rested upon anyone who spoke on that (the Opposition) side at | about two months too late to be servicethe present moment. So far as Gen- able for debates. The Opposition might tlemen on that side were concerned, they argue that the step which the Governhad reason to congratulate themselves ment had now taken was as much as to on the outcome of recent events; be- say that they admitted that the condicause, a few months ago, they earnestly tions which were attempted to be imadvocated the supersession of Sir Bartle posed upon Cetewayo at the commenceFrere, and now the Government had ment of the war were not the conditions superseded him. ["No!"] That was, which they were disposed to insist upon they had deprived him of the power of now in sending out Sir Garnet Wolseley. doing what many feared he was about For his own part, he should not have to do-namely, to carry on a war for discountenanced the continuance of any objects which they did not believe to be discussion by which practical good was legitimate objects. They ought, there- likely to be obtained; but, Members of fore, to be satisfied with that. It was now the Opposition having already fully exadmittedthat the policy which was sought pressed their sentiments, it was now their to be pressed upon Cetewayo at first policy and their wisdom to let the Gowas not the policy which they were dis- vernment see that they desired to enposed to insist upon at present. The courage them in carrying out the policy sending out of Sir Garnet Wolseley was, which they seemed now to have adopted, in his opinion, an event of very happy in the hope that under Sir Garnet augury; and the Government would be Wolseley the past might in some meaworse than blind if they did not see that sure be retrieved, and that we might the country desired an end of the present soon see a speedy termination of the state of things, so long as it could be unhappy war in South Africa-a war brought about in a way compatible with which was begun without necessity, and the honour of the country, and less than in the conclusion of which the principles that it would be impossible to accept. of magnanimity, generosity, and huIt was their policy and their wisdom to manity ought to be allowed to have full let the Government see what they desired weight. to be done, and leave it to them to carry it out. And what was it they now wanted to gain? They desired that measures should be taken to secure as speedy and satisfactory a termination of the war as possible; and he was not sure that this object would be best secured by pressing the Government too much on the subject at the present moment. There were many occasions on which it was legitimate and right, as well as absolutely necessary, for the Opposition to press the Government; but, at a moment when the Government appeared to have come round to the Opposition policy, though only doing now what they ought to have done two months ago, it was rather for the Opposition to encourage them, and show a desire to afford them as much support as they legitimately could in carrying out that policy. He (Mr. Knatchbull-Hugessen) made it his principal complaint against the present Government, that although they were often right, they were generally right about two months too late. Just so it was with regard to the presentation of Papers on all these important subjects; the Government presented ample Papers, but they were almost always Mr. Knatchbull-Hugessen SIR JULIAN GOLDSMID wished to explain, that in questioning the Government on this subject he did not desire in any way to find fault with the appointment of Sir Garnet Wolseley. On the contrary, he thought the only point was whether the Government ought not to have adopted that course many weeks ago. He desired, however, to ask again, though in a different form, the Question he put yesterday-whether Sir Garnet Wolseley, in accepting the office of High Commissioner and Commander-in-Chief in South Africa, would still remain High Commissioner of Cyprus; whether, in fact, he was to hold the two appointments simultaneously; or whether he was to be succeeded in Cyprus by Colonel Greaves? As Sir Bartle Frere also held the office of High Commissioner in South Africa, he wished to know what steps were being taken to prevent a conflict of authority between him and Sir Garnet Wolseley? Another point he desired to refer to. There was a wide-spread feeling that there had been much unnecessary discomfort, not to say unnecessary illness, amongst the troops who had already arrived in South Africa. It had been reported that 25 per cent of the men who had recently gone out there were laid up by disease; and if the Government were in a position to give the House any information on that subject, it would be gratefully received. If there was any truth in the statement, he trusted the Government would take prompt measures to supply the existing want both of doctors and medicines at the seat of war. He trusted also that Sir Garnet Wolseley would have authority to exercise his discretion in taking advantage of any opportunity for speedily terminating a war which could do us no honour, and which must bring grief and woe to many homes in England. LORD ELCHO said, he thought the right hon. Member who formerly held the office of Under Secretary of State for the Colonies (Mr. Knatchbull-Hugessen) had rightly asked the House not to press the Government for details as to what it might be necessary to do at the Cape. Indeed, he thought it was unusual for an Executive possessed of the confidence of the country to be pressed to the extent to which Her Majesty's Government had been; and he (Lord Elcho) had noticed with satisfaction that his noble Friend the Leader of the Opposition was very careful when he spoke yesterday to avoid this fault, remarking that he only spoke upon the subject at all after the Government had themselves done so. Now, there could not be a doubt that this appointment of Sir Garnet Wolseley was a great change, and it had been received by the House and the country and the Press as a happy augury. He trusted that it might prove to be so. Sir Garnet Wolseley was a man of great administrative ability, with a sound military knowledge of strategy and tactics; and he (Lord Elcho) had no doubt that what ability, intelligence, and also kindliness of disposition could do to bring this war to a satisfactory termination would be done by that distinguished gentleman. He had the pleasure of Sir Garnet Wolseley's acquaintance-indeed, enjoyed his friendship, and he looked with great satisfaction upon his appointment. But he could not but couple this feeling of satisfaction with the feeling which naturally arose from the fact that this war had shown us that, without calling out our Reserves, we had, practically, no Army; and the appointment of Sir Garnet Wolseley looked very much as if, in the opinion of the authorities who were responsible for the safety of the State, we had but one General. He need not dwell on that further than to express a hope that what the nation expected from this appointment would be realized, and that there would be soon in South Africa a satisfactory and permanent settlement of the present unhappy state of affairs. But, while thus speaking, and while anxious to do justice to Sir Garnet Wolseley, he felt that but scant justice had been done to Sir Bartle Frere in speeches which had been made in that House, and in this matter he could not even except Her Majesty's Government. He had not the pleasure of Sir Bartle Frere's acquaintance-he had, indeed, only seen him once in his life-and, therefore, spoke entirely without any personal feeling, but solely according to the dictates of conscience. He thought that in the speeches made and the course taken with reference to Sir Bartle Frere, hon. Members did not sufficiently put themselves in the position of that gentleman when he was sent out to South Africa with the high powers which were conferred upon him by his commissionpowers, be it remembered, of peace and war-powers which were not granted to an ordinary Colonial Governor, but which were given to him as High Commissioner. Hon. Members did not sufficiently put themselves in the position of a man who, well known for his humanity and for his negrophilism, if he might say so, in other parts of the world, found himself suddenly confronted with what, acting to the best of his judgment, he believed to be imminent danger to the Colonies for whose safety he was responsible. If we had had difficulties to contend with in that army of organized Zulus, what did that show? It showed how great the danger was; and the greater our difficulties the greater was the danger shown to be. That much was clear from the course of the war. They had heard a great deal of the extraordinary gallantry of that savage race. No one could speak of it too highly. He did not believe that our nation ever in its history encountered so physically brave a people as the Zulus. Indeed, if he could prophesy, he could confidently predict that the day would come-as certainly as this country would prosper and progress as a great Imperial Power |