The Press. — London, England, 1854-12-16 00:00:00

1204 service, but was sent out under the command of that very commander of whom this character had been given to the First Lord of the Admiralty. (Hear.) Ido not state this as a fact within my own know ledge ; but I ask the noble duke (of Newcastle) if it be so? and if so, I ask whether, for the loss of that vessel—of her precious cargo, and her crew of 150 men—her Majesty's Govemment are not deeply responsible? (Hear, hear.) But whether the facts on this point are, or are not, such as they have been represented to me, why was this vessel, with such a cargo, permitted so long to drive outside the bay? Why was she not, at any risk and at any incon venience, taken into Balaklava, by which this casualty, and the lamentable loss we have sustained through it, would have been prevented. (Hear.) Now, my lords, in making these comments T hope and feel that I have made them with no desire to embarrass the Government, but for the purpose of affording the Govern ment an opportunity, if possible, of repudiating and re futing them ; and, if they cannot, of strongly urging upon the Government to avoid such acts for the future. But when I charge them with an utter unconsciousness of what they were about to do, there cannot be a stronger proof of the justice of that charge than the very circumstances under which we are meeting this day. Parliament stood prorogued until the 14th of November. On the 10th or 1 lth—l am not certain as to the exact day—a Privy Coun cil was summoned for the purpose of further proroguing Parliament, and a further prorogation accordingly took place from the 14th of November to the 14th of December, without being accompanied by the words, " then to meet for the discharge of business. It was thus perfectly clear, then, that on the 10th of November the Government had not the slightest inkling as to the actual meeting of Parlia ment on the 14th. I admit it is perfectly competent for the Government, upon any unforeseen emergency, to call Parliament together at an earlier period than that to which it is prorogued, but in this case, from the terms of the notice officially issued, there was a general understanding that there would be a further prorogation, and that mem bers of both houses would be enabled to form their engage ments accordingly, without inconvenience. Well, but on the 20th of November a change came o'er the spirit of the dream of the Government, and that which they evidently considered unnecessary on the 10th they deemed so urgent and pressing on the 20th that they immediately summoned Parliament together—not on the day to which it had been prorogued, but two days earlier. There was, therefore, in the opinion of the Government, not an hour to be lost. Now, what was the sudden exigency which had arisen in those ten days—what had occurred in the interval to make the meeting of Parliament expedient on the 20th of No vember which did not make it equally expedient on the 10th? Undoubtedly, in the meantime the news of the battle of Inkermann had arrived. But am Ito be told that a provision which was so urgent that the period to which Parliament had been prorogued must be anticipated in order to meet it—which was of such importance and pressing urgency that Parliament must be called hastily together in order to provide for it—am I to be told that the necessity of such a provision was simply occasioned by a battle in which, undoubtedly, you lost a large numerical proportion of your men, but which is yet not to be compared with many engagements of modem times? (Hear, hear.) If you calculated that you were going to take, to keep, and to raze Sebastopol without any addition to that small force, was it only on the 20th of November, and notpreviously to that day, that it came into your heads that it was possible and advisable to take measures for increasing the effec tive strength of your army ? ("Bear " and cheers.) Your lordships must remember that the Government have not yet condescended to inform us in what manner it is in tended to strengthen the army, or what they mean to do to meet the emergency. We have been told, indeed, by the organs of the Government that they have money in abun dance—(a laugh)—and don't stand in need of a loan : and it is also hinted that it is intended to take powers to enable a portion of the militia of this country to volunteer for foreign service, and occupy the places of some of our foreign garrisons. Now, if that is the case, did not the necessity for that measure exist, and was it not foreseen, before the 20th of November? or was it that, after estab lishing a Ministry , of War in the middle of June, you and the rest of his colleagues threw upon him all the responsi bility and labour of the war, scattered yourselves all over the country, never taking into consideration the pressing military emergencies of the country until you met in November ? ("Hear," and Opposition cheers.) At all events, upon the face of the case, I cannot but think that the Government stand convicted of a want of due care and forethought up to a very late period, as exemplified in the time to which they had prorogued Parliament and the sudden reflection which led them to desire an earlier meet ing. (Hear, hear.) My lords, I have spoken of the gallant services of the army in the Crimea ; and gallantly have they been sup ported—more especially on shore—by the sister service. I, however, observe no reference in her Majesty's Speech to the success achieved by our arms in the Baltic—(a laugh) —or to the great progress made by our exertions there towards arriving at an honourable and successful issue of this great struggle. Now, I should be sorry to say a single word of disparagement of the gallant men whom we sent out there, but, certainly, never did a mighty force—one of the most powerful armaments which this country has ever sent forth—sent, too, with no little amount of self-laudation—accomplish so little. (Hear). Your lordships will all remember a certain Reform dinner, at which much was said of the mighty deeds to be done by a Reform admirr.!—(" Hear," and laughter)—and at which very considerable powers were given to the admiral to proclaim war—(renaved laughter)—and, when it was proclaimed, it was rather boastfully done. Your lordships THE PRESS. cannot have forgotten that order of the day—that signal which was given in language, perhaps, not so concise as that of Nelson, nor quite in the same spirit. lam sure you recollect the injunction to every man on board the fleet to sharpen his cutlass and prepare for immediate action—to give a good account of the Russian fleets if they happened to meet them, and if they slunk in their harbours they were to be pulled out by main force. lam not about to depreciate the conduct of our fleet. On the part of individual officers an opportunity was afforded for the exhibition of great skill and seamanship and of great valour. But as far as all the results of war go--of all that most expensive and most formidable fleet—those results are literally nil. You crumbled down a half finished for tress which you were not able to occupy, and now one by one your ships are dropping home from the scene of their labours, but not of their exploits. Now, I need not say that I am not a naval man, and so far, perhaps, do not speak with much authority—(" Hear, hear," from the Minis terial benches)—but I apprehend that the Government ought to have known the strength of Cronstadt—ought to have been aware of the peculiar characteristics of the Baltic, and the peculiar strength possessed by the Rus sians for the defence of their forces there. What did the Government do? Why, they sent out a fleet of such superior power that it would have been an act of madness on the part of the Russian fleet to come out and meet them in the open sea: and at the same time they sent out a fleet the vessels comprising which, in consequence of their magnitude, were of such a draught of water that it was absolutely impossible, looking at the depth of water in the Russian strongholds, that they and the enemy's ships could come into conflict. ("Hear," and a laugh.) The consequence of this was, that Sir C. Napier was condemned to an ignominious inaction which is only paralleled by that old story which many of your lordships, no doubt, re• member " Lord Chatham, with his sword undrawn, Stood waiting for Sir Richard Strachan; Sir Richard, longing to be at 'em, Stood waiting for the Earl of Chatham." (Loud laughter.) So stood Sir Charles, and so stood the Russian admiral. Both were, no doubt, longing to engage, but, somehow, from the nature of things, it was impossible they should come to blows. This is another instance in which the Government will be fairly charged with having condemned to ignominious inactivity one of the finest fleets sent out from this country, and this from neglecting the most ordinsry precautions which the exigency of the service required. Other persons communicated with the Government on this subject, pointed out the shallowness of the water, the necessity of employing vessels of a small draught of water, and calculated to carry guns of a heavy calibre; but the Government took no notice, or only said, " Pooh! pooh! What do they know about it? " (Hear, hear.) Their views were altogether neglected, until again it was too late ; and when it was too late, and a whole year had been lost, then the very vessels which ought to have been constructed at first were begun to be built. Thus the expenses and opportunities of one year were altogether thrown away, and we are, so far as the Baltic is concerned, in the exact position in which we were before. (Hear, hear.) Now, I repeat that I allude to all this, not for the pur pose of discouraging those gallant men who, whether in the Baltic or elsewhere, have done their best to maintain the honour of our flag; but if we are to come to a sue cesful issue of this great and serious war—if we are to look to conquering an honourable peace—we must strike decided blows. I say " conquering" an honourable peace, because I feel assured that without conquering a peace you will not obtain it. (Hear.) Depend upon it, knowing as we do the resources of the Russian empire, and knowing the character of the great man who rules it (for he is a great man, although now employing his vast resources for unworthy purposes), you will gain no peace unless you conquer it. (Hear.) You must obtain by your arms such advantages and such a superiority as to force the Emperor to submit to your terms of peace ; but if you do not achieve some great successes you may have a pro longed, a sanguinary, and possibly a disastrous war, but an honourable and a successful peace you cannot have. (Hear, hear.) There is only one more passage in her Majesty's Speech to which I consider myself compelled to refer. Her Majesty announces with satisfaction that she has concluded a treaty, in conjunction with the Emperor of the French, with Austria, from which she anticipates " important ad vantages to the common cause." My lords, I confess that this is a paragraph which creates some considerable doubt in my mind. (Heal.) There can be no doubt that, if, for the prosecution of the general cause of the war, we have thrown upon our side, instead of being in a very doubtful neutrality, the great military resources of Austria, the hearty co-operation of Austria in the war will be of the greatest importance, and of signal benefit to the powers already allied. (Hear, hear.) But, looking to the course which Austria has hitherto pursued, I must be pardoned if I hesitate to express my satisfaction at such a treaty having been formed until I, in common with your lordships, am made acquainted with the nature of the stipulations and conditions of that treaty, the engagements into which Austria has entered, and those by which we are are mutually bound to Austria. Ido not deny that we ought to make every allowance for the position of Austria. She is ex posed to peculiar dangers; and if she has been playing a not very dignified game, it must be owned that she has been playing it with considerable dexterity up to the present time. She may now feel it her interest and safety to throw off that doubtful mask which she has hitherto worn, and throw herself frankly into the arms of the allies, and join in a sincere confederacy with the Western powers. tip to the present moment, however, although it was a favourite text with her Majesty's Government that negotiations were protracted in order to secure the immense advantages of the co-operation of Austria and Prussia, I have yet to learn what practical SATURDAY, result, what benefit we have derived, and what co-operation 7-- we have had either from Austria, or still less from Pruss ia, (Hear, hear.) With regard to the first of the se powers, e appears to have been doubtfully neutral, an d the other doubtfully, or rather practically, hostile ; and looki ng to t h e part which Austria has played throughout this cam paign, I am not at all sure that she has not been in a great measure the cause of your want o f success i n the Crimea, and of the lamentable loss of life there. After the success achieved by the Turkish arms at Silistria, Austri a volunteered her intervention, but when the siege of Silistria was raised—when the Russian army was in full retreat-- when Omer Paths, at the head of a triumphant army, might have found occupation for a large portion of the forces of the Czar's army—at that moment Austria came in with her intervention, concluded a treaty with Turkey, the effect of which treaty was to give her the occupation and control of the principalities, to cover, in point of fact, the Russian retreat, to prevent the Turkish advance, to produce the demoralisation of that hitherto successful army, and set at liberty the whole of those forces which the Russians had concentrated in Bessarabia. The Czar was thus enabled to throw these forces upon our troops, which were already outnumbered by the troops they were besieging, and this fresh reinforcement, raising the armies opposed to them to four, five, and six times their numbers, was poured upon them mainly, as it appears to me, in consequence of the intervention of Austria. (Hear.) Well, when I consider that this has been the effect of the intervention of Austria, I may be permitted to doubt the effect of the advantages of the treaty which we are told has been entered into—at all events, until the termsofthat treaty are before us. (Hear, hear.) w e may possibly have entered into what, for anything I know, may be ex ceedingly inconvenient engagements—engagements which we may find it very difficult to carry out. I know not what are the stipulations which have been made, but I am sure that her Majesty's Government will feet—and it is the only point in which I shall attempt to state an objection, not to the Address itself, but only to the terms of the Ad dress—that it is unreasonable to call upon this house to express their satisfaction at a treaty the contents of which we known only to her Majesty's advisers, who may, in deed, fairly express their own sentiments on the subject, but who must feel it impossible to call upon us to do so, inasmuch as, for good or evil, we know not one single sen tence of what it contains. (Hear, hear.) I feel quite confident that, having made this suggestion, the Ministry will look upon it as so reasonable that they will consent to modify so far the terms of the Address as not to call upon the House of Lords to express satisfaction at the conclu sion of a treaty of which they know nothing, but couch the Address in the ordinary form, and declare the gratification of your lordships that her Majesty should have concluded this treaty with satisfaction to herself. (Hear.) Ido not move this in the form of an amendment, but am quite cer tain the Government will themselves see the reasonable ness of making such an alteration as will relieve us from all difficulty whatever with regard to the unanimous adop tion of this Address. (Hear, hear.) My lords, I feel it to be of deep importance for the prosecution of this war that we should have nut only, as we have, the cordial, deliberate, steady, reflecting sanction of the people of this country, but also that we should have the opinion of Parliament expressed in the most unmistake able terms ; that no questions of difference as to the mode in which the war has been or may be conducted should in terfere with the unanimous declaration of Parliament that we will give to her Majesty every support in our power; that the world at large may see the spectacle of a great nation sinking all political animosities, all party conten tion—uniting, heart and hand, with all he means at their disposal, with all the influence they can exercise among their fellow-countrymen, to prosecute the war, and—even although they may not entertain confidence in those who , have the management of that war—giving them to the full extent all the support they can require ; and I think I am speaking the sentiments of the country, as I am that of my own friends, when I say that, so far from grudging them any supplies, any support which is necessary for the successful prosecution of this great and important war, it will be the country which will urge forward the Ministers to spare no pains, to omit no exertion, to make every sacri fice and every effort for the purpose of securing a just and honourable peace, in consequence of a successful and vigorously prosecuted war. (Loud cheers.) And to those gallant men who are at the present moment, under circum stances of considerable difficulty, gallantly fighting the battles of their country, who have now to a certain extent been reinforced, and who have exhibited in domitable perseverence and a noble courage under all the circumstacces of difficulty and discouragement to which they have been exposed—to them I would say, yet a little more patience, a little more courage, a little more perse verance ; the end is not yet, but the end is approaching; the eyes of the country are upon you; and the wilted hearts of your countrymen are with you; their sympathies are with you in your unparalleled exertions; men, women, and children are collecting stores to alleviate your distress, to minister to your comfort, and to assuage your suffering.; fresh reinforcements are at hand, and your unflinching courage and perseverance during your obstinate resistance shall serve as a model to them, exciting them to emulate your glory, and prove themselves worthy of being your fellow-soldiers. Go on, I would say, in the gallant course which you have commenced, and believe that the hearts of your countrymen are with you, that many a to ar h been shed for those who have fallen in their country's ser vice, and that when you return from this expedition, which, as with all its difficulties, with all its glories, and with all its labours, must and will be successful, because your examp le will inspire others, you will be known, and honoured as the men who have brought peace to Europe , and main tained untarnished the honour of the British flag, who will have defended the weak from the power of the op pressor, and who will deserve and will receive the blessings of England and the world. (Loud cheers.) \