RE-ASSEMBLING OF PARLIAMENT.
On May 7th the houses resumed business. It was announced by the ministry that the Princess Royal was betrothed to Prince Frederick William of Prussia. The house made provision for the princess.
The abolition of “ministers’ money” in Ireland was accomplished, after a determined opposition by Mr. Disraeli in the commons, and the Earl of Derby in the lords. The tax so called was a source of heart-burning and contention in Ireland, a country afflicted by so many causes of social, political, and religious disputes, that it might be supposed parliament would have eagerly adopted any course to remove some of those occasions of discontent. The Derby-Disraeli opposition was overborne by large majorities, although the final struggle in the lords was ended by only a majority of seventeen.
Long and violent debates ensued on an attempt by Lord Palmerston to remove the ineligibility of Jews to sit in parliament. In the commons his lordship triumphed, but in the lords was defeated. Sir F. Thesiger in the commons and the Earls of Derby and Shaftesbury in the lords, were the leading opponents of the measure. The Jews were much excited by this defeat, and were, it was alleged, resolved to put forth their great wealth to agitate the question on an extended scale: the temper of the country would have been favourable to such an attempt.
Lord John Russell made another effort to obtain the admission of Jews, but failed. The exasperation felt by the Jewish community now reached a degree of great intensity, and the public sympathized with what was considered their wrongs. Much indignation was felt against certain Irish Roman Catholic members of parliament, who, in the supposed interests of their own church, opposed the emancipation of their Jewish brethren.
The remainder of the session was chiefly occupied by party squabbles, to the exclusion of useful and practical business. The opposition raised numerous debates on the Persian war, and the Indian mutiny, which were defeated. Mr. Disraeli signalized himself by much bitterness of invective, and the avowal of principles which when in office, previously and subsequently, he neither advocated nor acted upon. Some useful discussions upon military and legal questions took place, and a bill for facilitating divorce, in cases where that would be just and moral, was carried. On the 28th of August parliament was prorogued.