The Week.

that troops should not be detached except under the command of commissioned officers ; that no punishment should be inflicted except by the order of a court-martial composed of not less than three officers ; that every facility should bo given to prisoners to make their defence ; and that no sentence of death should bo

pronounced except two-thirds of the court were in favour of it . —Mr . Corry intimated , in reply to Mr . Samuda , that in the opinion of the Naval Commander-in-Chief at Portsmouth , and the Master Attendant of the Dockyard , it would have been highly imprudent for the fleet to weigh anchor at the naval review in such a narrow

channel during such weather . Testimony was borne by Sir George Grey to the admirable arrangements on board the ship on which he was accommodated , and he spoke highly of the magnificence of the spectacle presented at the 2-eview . On the motion to go into Committee of Supply , Colonel Sykes moved , " That it is inexpedient to continue the present arrangements with the committee of the Royal Society at an expense of

£ 10 , 000 per annum , the average cost of the Meteorological Department of the Board of Trade having been £ 4 , 300 per annum . " The gallant colonel insisted that the storm warnings ought to be continued . Mr . Cave and Mr . M . Gibson both contended that the warnings were useless ; and after some discussion , Colonel Sykes

withdrew his amendment . On the 23 rd inst ., the Chancellor of the Exchequer made an announcement as to the business of the Session . First , nine bills were at once to be withdrawn ; others were only to be proceeded with as might be convenient , and the remaining votes in supply would be taken before the end of next

Week . There was practically nothing definite in the announcement made . The first order on the paper was the second reading of tho Scottish Reform Bill , and the House was completely sold . There had been an arrangement with the Scotch members that the Chancellor of the Exchequer should move the second reading in a speech in which he should state what parts of the scheme were to be modified . Instead of doing so he never rose but moved the second readme from his seat . The Scotch

members were all unprepared , and befoi-e anything could be done the Speaker bad put the question and declared it carried . Later Sir Andrew Agnew appealed to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to tell the House something about the intentions of the Government as to the bill . Tho Chancellor of the Exchequer said he should

put tho bill down for committee , and , perhaps , he might state whether the bill would bo reprinted , —The House next took up the consideration of the Royal Parks Bill , the second reading of which was moved by Mr . G . Hardy in a vory bland speech . Mr . Keate followed him with an argument which , if it means anything , means that

public meetings ought to be forbidden altogether . Mr . P . A . Taylor moved the rejection of the bill in a speech of much force . Mr . IMewdcgate supported the bill , which Mr . Mill opposed in a speech full of the most irresistible arguments . Subsequently Mr . J . Hardy distinguished himself by a most disgraceful and vulgar attack on Mr . Taylor . or this he was immediately called to order , and had tc retract . After some further discussion , the

bill was read a second time by 181 votes to 64 It was understood that ample time should be given for the consideration of the bill in committee . —The House went into committee of supply , and considered the votes for tho suppression of the slave trade , and other matters . On the 23 rd inst . Mr . Hardy proposed that the

Meetings in Royal Parks Bill should be committed pro forma with a view to have it reprinted as suggested by Sir G . Grey , ! n order to have certain amendments inserted . Mr . Kewdegate urged upon the House that whatever provision might be made respecting public meetings , the right of public meeting should not be

invalidated by vesting the discretion of allowing it to take placo or not in any Government officer . The remark elicited general cries of " Hear . " Speaking the opinion of others , as well as his own , the hon . gentleman asked that whatever was to be done should be done absolutely by the House . The House then went into committee

for the purpose suggested by the Home Secretary , and immediately resumed . —The attention of the House was called by Mr . Gregory to the . cases of the Tornado and Victoria . Tho case made by the hon . gentleman was that the Tornado , like the Cyclone , was fitted out in this country for the Chilian Government , and really belonged

to the Chilian navy . The only difference was that the Cyclone had escaped the Spanish cruisers , and now formed one of the Chilian war fleet , and that the Tornado , less lucky , had fallen into tho power of the Spaniards . He therefore submitted that the Tornado was contraband , and that the Spaniards acted rightly in

sei' / . mg her . The case of the Victoria was , he admitted , totally and entirely diffei'ent , though it bad been improperly mixed up with the Tornado . ISTo doubt in the case of the Victoria the authorities at Cadiz were in the wrong , and the Spanish Government never held out on that question . He had been in Spain , and could

observe there the existence of a feeling of great soreness towards England , arising to a great extent from hearing the drums and bugles of a foreign nation on the ramparts of Gibraltar , and from knowing that the guns of Gibraltar were employed for the protection of smugglers on the Spanish coast . Sir Roundell Palmer contended

that it was an error on the part of the Foreign Secretary to dictate tho mode of procedure to tho Spanish Government , though ho admitted at first it appeared that the judgment originally pronounced in the Spanish Court was a judgment of condemnation , whereas it was not really so ; and , when the'noble lord was apprised of that

fact , he should have seen that all right on the part of her Majesty's Government to dictate to the Spanish Government had disappeared . The conduct of the Government was defended by the Attorney-General , who insisted that the first judgment was really a judgment of condemnation . Mr . B . Cochrane considered that nothing could

justify tho conduct of the Spanish Government towards the crew of the ship , many of whom came from his own neighbourhood , and bad no idea that any charge could be mads against the owner . He contended that the vessel never belonged to the Chilian Government at all ; and urged that the witnesses who could prove the fact wore dispersed without receiving any indemnity f 2-om the