GENERAL SUMMARY. [From the Overland Mail.]

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume XVII, Issue 49, 19 June 1858, Page 3

GENERAL SUMMARY. [From the Overland Mail.]

The intelligence of the past week is not wanting in interest, although we have nothing of a very exciting character to record. There have been no great party conflicts at home, and no more regicidal attempts or revolu tionary conspiracies abroad. For a while we have been sailing in smooth waters, but how long this is to last it is impossible to foresee. We had hoped that this number of our journal would contain the provisions of the I new India Bill ; but as yet nothing has been announced regarding them, except that, tomorrow night, they will be stated, and leave will be asked to bring in the bill. It appears that Mr. Disraeli will be the exponent of the views of the new Ministry, and that a fori midable opposition will be got up by Lord Palmerston and his supporters; upon what grounds, but those of party, does not very I plainly appear. The second reading of the Palmerstonian Indian Bill remains on the papers. And, if the members of the late Government are not satisfied with the new bill (and, not being their own, there is little likelihood of their approving it), they will proceed with their own measure. We shall i then have the battle of the bills — a fierce party conflict — neither faction, in all probability, caring about anything but place. i 'Among the Parliamentary events of the week may be mentioned an animated discussion upon the subject of the severe retribution said to have been inflicted on the mutineers and other rebellious inhabitants of India. It will be gathered from this that there is really now a strong feeling against anything like indiscriminate vengeance, but there is no proof that any such vengeance has been inflicted. The excesses of the enemy have been greatly exaggerated; and there is an equally strong probability that the excesses alleged to have been committed by our own people have also been greatly magnified in the recital. The private letters of young officers, which talk about " hanging every black fellow we can lay our hands upon," are obviously not to be taken as utterances of sober truth ; and yet it is merely upon these private letters, written iv a state of excitement, that the charge of indiscriminate vengeance is based. There is nothing more surprising, indeed, than the amount of falsehood which has been circulated in England regarding the events of the great sepoy revolt. Officers who have recently arrived in England from the scene of war declare, that they hear, for the first time, in this country, of things of which they must have been cognizant had they actually happened. The mutilation question, it may be stated, remains involved in as much mystery as ever. Not one authenticated case has yet transpired. The miscellaneous Parliamentary intelligence of the week presents one or two points calling for notice. Lord John Russell's Oaths Bills has passed through committee, and the third reading is fixed for the 12th of April. A bill for the legalization of marriage with a deceased wife's sister has been introduced by Lord Burt ; leave being given by a majority of 105 to (\2. The bill will probably be car- ! ried through all its stages in the House of j Commons, to be again thrown out by the I Lords. The importance of the question has been much increased by a recent legal decision ; and public opinion is declaring itself more and more strongly in favour of the removal of the prohibition. The Paris correspondent of the Times affirms, on the authority of the Paris salons, that the resignation of his post by M. de Persigny is owing chiefly to his not having been exactly en accord with Count Walewski on the Conspiracy Bill question : — In accounting for his resignation, I only repeat what is said here. If we are to believe these persons, it would appear that the draft of a note in reply to Lord Malmesbury was sent here, which would lia\ c, in the opinion of the writer, conciliated the explanations due to a friendly nation with the maintenance of the dignity of France. It is to be presumed that the draft was not accepted, as the only answer returned was M. Walewski's note, with the order to present it forthwith to Lord Malmesbury. What M. de Persigny said of I the matter I know not, but he probably considered that the note in question did not fulfil the object he aimed at, and that he could not continue to represent | in London a policy, which perhaps appeared to him at the same time too violent and too weak. It is 6aid that he merely complied with the letter of his instructions, and handed, without blame or praise, or comment of any sort, M. Walewski's note to the English Foreign Secretary ; and then, it is added, wrote to Paris, tendering his resignation, and requested that his successor should be named as soon as possible. M. Pietri, Prefect of Police, has resigned his post. The Emperor, who has written a letter to M. Pietri, accepting his resignation with regret, and speaking highly of the retiring Prefect's services, has appointed to the vacant office M. Boitelle, Prefect of the Yonne.

[From the Home News for India, March 25.] . The»short time that has elapsed since the new Ministry entered upon their duties, offers a sufficient explanation of the comparative barrenness of the Parliamentary proceedings in measures indicative of the policy of Government. It has hitherto been a source of much complaint in the Upper House that, during the early part of a session, there is little or no business brought forward, and that there is always an extremely inconvenient crush towards the close. This unequal pressure has arisen from many causes, but chiefly from the fact that the greater weight of departmental labour is usually represented in the Commons. Under the present administration, some change in this respect might have been looked for, in j consequence of the First Minister of the Crown and the President of the Board of Control being both in the House of Peers ; but Lord Derby has been unable to diminish the established inconvenience, having come in only a few weeks before the Easter holidays, and inheriting, moreover; sundry unfinished tasks from his predecessors, which must be put in train or disposed of before any original measure of importance can be inaugurated. He must, therefore, wait till the India Bill, the gravest of all the legacies left by Lord Palmerston to his successors, shall have been fairly submitted to discussion, and two or three minor obstructions got rid of, before the Parliamentary strength or weakness of the Government can be put to the test. There seems to be a general disposition to give Lord Derby ample time mid opportunity for developing his views ; and

contrary, indeed, to the practice generally followed by his own party when out of office, the members of the late Administration, in both houses, have shown marked courtesy and forbearance in the incidental skirmishes that have taken place between them. It will not be for lack of favourable circumstances if the Conservative Ministry should fail. The Indian Loan Bill and the Havelock Annuity Bill have passed both Houses, and received the Royal assent. The Select Committee (moved for by Mr. Ewart) on Colonization and Settlement in India, has been nominated. We have not heard any objection to the constitution of this committee, which includes some members well acquainted with India, and presents upon the whole a fair representation of opinions. In addition to Mr. Ewart himself, the committee is to consist of Mr. Baillie, Mr. Campbell, Mr. Gregson, Mr. Kinnaird, Mr. Knighe, Mr. Lowe, Mr. Lygon, Mr. Mangles, Sir Erskine Perry, Mr. Dauby Seymour, Mr. Benjamin Smith, Mr. Vansittart, Mr. Charles Villiers, and Mr. Willoughby. It is not anticipated that this inquiry will lead to any very extensive practical results. There is little to be learned concerning the actual question of colonization in India which is not already known ; but it is probable that this committee may be enabled to collect into body much valuable information now scattered in different quarters, and which, thus presented in a connected whole, will be found useful whenever movements are making for carrying out the design for establishing English settlements in the healthy districts of India. Mr. Disraeli has announced his intention of bringing forward tha bill " for the better Government of India" to-morrow, 26th March. We have already indicated what are believed to be the chief points upon which this will be found to differ from Lord Palmerston's — Council and the patronage. In the essential provision, the transfer Jof India to the Crown, the two bills are identical. The council will consist of twelve members, and it is highly probable that the first appointments will include the names of Sir George Pollock, Sir R. Vivian, and Mr. Willoughby. The intention of the measure, with reference partly to departmental responsibility, is to leave the "better government of India " as much as possible in the hands of the local authorities, by which much time will be saved, and much misconstruction and confusion avoided. The bill will, doubtless, be an improvement on its predecessor, as it ought to be, with all the advantages of experiment and observation on its side. The vexations, delays, and impediments thrown in the way of English subjects, whose affairs call them abroad, by the recent passport arrangements, have been brought under the notice of Parliament by Mr. Monkton Milnes. It appears that in their great desire to accommodate themselves to the wishes of the French Government, our late ministers introduced these new regulations, against which protests have risen up in all parts of the kingdom. The circumstance is a lucky one for Lord Derby. It will enable him to do a very popular thing without trouble, or sacrifice of principle to consistency. What is required to be done is to facilitate the means of obtaining passports, so far as our own Government is concerned, and to allow them to be issued at a price which will bring them within everybody's reach. At present, the character and respectability of the applicant must be attested by a magistrate. The absurdity of the condition is obvious. Neither character nor respectability has anything to do with a man's right to travel. The only conditions which should be stipulated for is the fact of his being a British subject, and, therefore, entitled to British protection. Let France, or Austria, or Russia, the countries in which this egregious passport system flourishes, look after his character and respectability of themselves. Mr. Disraeli and the Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs have given a promise to relieve us from these odious restrictions, as soon as they can decide upon a system to be substituted for them. London, Thursday Morning, March 25. Great ease continues to prevail in the money market. The current rates of discount for first-class bills remain at 2\ to 2\ per cent., and at the Bank of England the applications are still upon a very scanty scale. Meanwhile the imports of gold have been extraordinarily extensive, leading to a further important increase in the Bank's stock. Since the 1 7th instant, it is known that upwards of half a million in gold has been sent into the Bank, and the total metallic stock is now computed at the extraordinary sum of 18£ millions. The idea rather gained strength in some quarters last week, that the bank minimum rate of discount would • be reduced from 3 to 2\ per cent., but the directors prefer to wait. This is not surprising, for the issue of the Indian loan will probably give a stimulus to the demand for money. Whether that demand will be more than temporary remains to be seen. It must not be forgotten that the April dividend period is close at hand, and that in the following month two millions of Exchequer bonds fall repayable. A reduction in the rate of discount of the Bank of France from 4 to 3\ per cent, is shortly expected, owing to the increase in the resources of that establishment. It is highly desirable that a stimulus should be given to the French trade by any legitimate means, but the languishing condition of commarcial affairs is not in any way attributable to considerations connected with the state of the money market, as the French Government must be well aware. At Hamburg, the rate of discount, which has remained at the extraordinary low level of \\ per cent, for many weeks, is now 2 to 2\ per cent. The Australian public will be glad to learn from the English papers that " Messrs. Dennistoun and Co., whose suspension for .£2,000,000 was one of the most serious events of the recent crisis, and who subsequently arranged to pay in full by instalments, consider themselves in a position to anticipate the payment due on the 31st of July on general account, and on the 30th of June on Australian account, and have stated their readiness to meet the same on the 31st of March."