said, he wished to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether the sum voted in the present year in aid of the expenses in bringing out General Chesney's work is to be given with the understanding that the work is to be completed; and, also, whether the East India Company have contributed any sum for the same purpose? In putting this question, he wished to observe that £6,000 had already been paid for what was only a more preface, and that but one volume had as yet been published, which contained, not useful matter with regard to the exploration of the East, but was a more history of commerce.

said, he could not at present give the hon. Gentleman the assurance he required, because the Government had not yet considered the expediency of publishing the remainder of the work. His own impression was, that three volumes had been published. The arrangement with General Chesney, upon which £4,000 had been voted by that House, and £1,000 by the East India Company, was that, in time first place, the copies of the work were to be at the disposal of the Government; next, that the materials for its completion were also to be at the disposal of the Government; and, thirdly, that General Chesney should, without any charge, edit the remainder, when the Government thought it expedient that it should be completed.

said, he wished to point out that as he had been the first to mention this subject, that two volumes had been published, the first of which contained, he believed, a history of the world, and the other a history of Asia, mixed up with every variety of matter. There were two more volumes yet to be published to complete the work.

said he wished to ask a question of the noble Lord the Chief Commissioner of Works, of width he had not given notice; but as it related to a matter respecting which he had had private communication with the noble Lord some time ago, he had no doubt the noble Lord would be able to give him an answer one way or the other. He would like to know when it was the intention of the noble Lord to remove those abominable iron hurdles which now disfigured the parks, and prevented the people of the metropolis from the free enjoyment of them, although they were maintained at the public expense simply for the public recreation. His right hon. Friend the late Chief Commissioner had assured him that they would be removed last spring, and he had understood from the noble Lord (Lord J. Manners) that he also intended to remove them. But there they are still, and there they appeared likely to remain, so far as he could see, until the iron had disappeared by the process of time. Meanwhile the public are precluded from that power of free expatiation over their own parks which is essential to their health and amusement. Perhaps the noble Lord will say that the object of those hurdles is to prevent the people from walking over the grass; but he (Viscount Palmerston) did not know for what purpose the grass was there, except to be walked upon. If it were to be kept for the purpose of being looked at only, it ceased to have the advantage it was intended to confer upon the population. He wished to know, therefore, when the noble Lord intends taking the people of the metropolis out of irons, so far as related to the parks.

said, that having completed the removal of the hurdles from the whole of Hyde Park, the question of the noble Viscount must refer chiefly to the Green Park. It had been his intention to remove all the hurdles from that park also; but, unfortunately, as the noble Viscount was doubtless aware, there came a plague of obnoxious insects early in the spring which destroyed the grass in a very extraordinary manner, and in consequence it became necessary to enclose within iron hurdles all that portion of the park which had been so injured. He had great hopes, however, that the grass would soon recover; and he trusted that the noble Viscount would take the removal of the hurdles from Hyde Park as an earnest of his (Lord John Manners') desire to remove them also from the Green Park.

said, he wished to ask a question of the right hon. Gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and for the purpose of doing so in order would move the adjournment of the House, if that were necessary. Nearly two years ago the Government of this country broke off diplomatic relations with the Government of Naples; and the question he now begged to ask was, whether any change has taken place, or is likely to take place, in our relations with that country? The breaking off of those diplomatic relations arose out of the barbarities which were committed in the prisons of the Neapolitan dominions towards political offenders. The imprisonment and torture, he was sorry to say, continued, and those dungeons were still full of persons who were undergoing all the barbarities which were the usual accompaniments of incarceration in an Italian prison. The question, he thought, was a most appropriate one to be put at the present moment, and the House ought not to separate for the recess without receiving some reply. The Sovereigns of England and France were about to meet in a day or two. Her Majesty would be surrounded by Peers and Commoners, and attended by very many of her faithful subjects, and he did think that a whisper or a word on the occasion from Her Majesty's lips might suggest to the Monarch of France that in the midst of all the festivities and congratulations they should not altogether forget the wrongs of Italy. The utterance of such a sentiment would, he believed, he highly acceptable to the Emperor of the French, because it was well known, at all events, he (Mr. Duncombe) had reason to know, from what had recently been communicated to him, that during the Russian war the Emperor of the French, to his honour, suggested that the restoration of Poland and the independence of Italy should form part of any general scheme for the settlement of peace. That proposal, however, he was given to understand, was ignominiously rejected by the Government of England; but be that as it might, he believed that the reproach which was sometimes levelled against Englishmen, that they were very fond of constitutional freedom and liberty at home, but that they sided with despotism abroad, was but too true. The question he had to put to the right hon. Gentleman, therefore, was whether any change has taken place, or is likely to take place, with regard to our relations with the Government of Naples?

Sir, I did not collect from the observations of the hon. Gentleman whether he thinks that the revival of diplomatic relations with Naples would be a proof of our sympathy with despotism abroad, or the reverse, though the inference from his observations may be taken either way. I think, however, all must feel that to terminate diplomatic relations between two States is always an extremely inconvenient and injurious course, and one that can only be justified by very strong reasons indeed. With regard to the case of Naples, perhaps a great deal of what has occurred, and which has very much interested this House of late, between the King of the Two Sicilies and this country, might not have occurred had Her Majesty been directly represented at that Court. But it is unnecessary now to speculate upon those circumstances. I am bound to say that the late negotiations between England and Naples, which were of an extraordinary character, and occasioned by a remarkable event—I allude to the seizure of the Cagliari—were certainly conducted in a manner which was satisfactory to this country, and, at the same time, not at all, I think, to the discredit of the Neapolitan Government. Whether those relations which subsisted heretofore will soon he revived it is impossible for me at the present moment to state, No doubt it is extremely desirable that there should be direct communications between this Government and the Neapolitan Government; and I trust that whenever those communications are restored, they will be restored under circumstances which will be generally satisfactory to the people of this country.

appeared at the Bar, and read the following reply from the Queen to an Address from the House for the issue of a Royal Commission relative to Harbours of Refuge in the Report of a Select Committee of this House upon Harbours of Refuge. Answer to Address [26th July] reported, as follows:— I have received your Address, praying that I will give directions for the appointment of a Royal Commission to complete the Inquiry in the terms recommended in the Report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons, in the present Session, on Harbours of Refuge. And I have given directions that a Royal Commission shall issue for the purpose which you have requested.

said, he would beg to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is in possession of any further information relative to proceedings in China which would encourage the hope of such a satisfactory result as is referred to by Lord Elgin in his address to the merchants of Shanghai?

said, that the latest accounts received front China were of a satisfactory character; and, if they did not tend to encourage a hope of the immediate conclusion of difficulties, justified him in believing that increased activity in that quarter would lead to the result which the hon. Gentleman desired.