The Press. — London, England, 1854-12-23 00:00:00

j)ECEMBER 23, 1854. Vrottarings arliament. FOREIGNERS ENLISTMENT BILL. This bill was reported in the House of Lords on Saturday, the Peers meeting specially for that pur pose. Lord ELLENBOROUOH renewed his protest against the measure on this occasion, but the discus sion that arose was brief, and the house very scantily attended, as was expected upon so excep tional a sitting. The bill accordingly passed that stage without difficulty. On Monday the bill came up again for third read ing, and, although no division took place, the objec tions previously raised against it were once more forcibly urged and weakly met by the Ministerial speakers. The Earl of ELLEN/Witt/lila( began by specifying the modifications which the measure had already undergone, and which he admitted had some what alleviated its objectionable characterisucs. Nevertheless, his disapprobation of the bill upon principle remained unallayed The 34vernment themselves, he remarked, seemed to distrust the fidelity of these foreign troops if placed in the Mediterranean garrisons, and he could not understand how they could be trusted in the Crimea. If they revolted in Corfu, might they not desert at Sebastopol? The sth clause gave power to the Government to make supple. mental Articles of War for the foreign troops. He did not believe that that clause had met with the approbation of the commander-in-chief, for that noble lord when in India abolished the separate Articles of War under which the Indian soldiers enlisted, and placed them under the same discipline with the British soldier. He wished to know whence these troops were to come? He adhered to his opinion that there were no troops in the world like British troops. A chain-cable formed of wrought and of cast iron links might look equally good in all its parts, and might act equally well in fair weather, but when the strain of the storm came the cast-iron links would be sure to give way. His wish was that the British army should be composed in all its parts of wrought-iron. There was a sense of personal dignity about an Englishman which he believed did not exist elsewhere. An Englishman felt if be disgraced his colours that he would be hooted when he went home—not a woman would look at or speak to him. It was different with foreigners. If they turned their backs they but disgraced the arms they had assumed, and they would go back to the banks of the Weser, or the Oder, or the Elbe, as much respected as they were before. He wanted to know what consideration we were to give these German princes for thus obtaining the services of their subjects ? If these petty German princes were willing to sell the blood of their subjects for money—and he could not see why else they should give their consent to this system of enlistment—then he wanted to know what dif ference there was between this traffic and that carried on in the kingdom of Dahomey? Could that be right on the banks of the Weser which was denounced as the last atrocity on the banks of the Congo? He confessed that his object in thus opposing the measure was t.) force the Government to draw their forces entirely from English subjects. He wished to drive Ministers out of that course they seemed to have adopted, of making war without a reserve ; of conducting a campaign without means of tran spo►t ; a system which condemned the army to gain bloody but fruitless viotones. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE ridiculed the appre hensions entertained by the opponents of the bill, declaring them absurd and exaggerated, and prophe sying that, upon investigation, they would vanish like spectres in the daylight. He respected the fears entertained by the public out of doors, who did not know the provisions of the bill—he honoured them for their jealousy of the constitution—but surely noble lords ought to know better From the Duke of Marlborough to the Duke of Wel lington scarcely a battle had been gained by Englishmen in which foreign troops had not some share. We were superior to Russia by sea—we were superior to her in wealth and in credit—we were inferior only in population. It was important that we shonliredress that inequality by every possible means. What was the objection to our em ployment of foreigners in order to redress that inequality ? It was alleged that. her Majesty, enlisting those troops for the purpose of foreign war, might launch them against the native populeion ' • and, though it was admitted that they were not equal to Englishman, still it was supposed that the British yeomen and the British militia would be no match for them, but that they would at once extinguish the liberties of England. He thought there was not a peasant on a village green who would not laugh at such an appre hension. The Minister who in former times had most employed foreigners was Lord Chatham, who made it his boast that he conquered America in Germany—that was, by the employment of Germans. The battle of Minden, which was one of the moat English victories of the last century, was foughtwith a British force inferior in numbers to the foreign force marshalled under the same banner. 'the Administration were as much impressed as the noble earl himself could be with the necessity of bringing every well-trained Englishman into the field; but., having done that, they were impressed with the expediency of employ ing a foreign force as well, the Government being respon sible for their employment and for their efficiency. With regard to the alteration of the Articles of War, all that was intended was to shape them so as to suit the habits and customs of foreign soldiers. The Earl of DERBY, after rebuking the previous speaker for the levity with which he treated the con stitutional objections to the measure, observed that MisMtass had emiused their delay in embodying the THE PRESS. militia upon the plea that the barrack accommodation ' was insufficient, and yet now proposed to raise a body of 10,000 or 15,000 foreigners, and quarter them upon the country in barracks ; or, if they were billetted, their presence here would be only the more objection able. It was urged that in foreign war we had em ployed foreign soldiers. This might be true and still not applicable as a precedent for the present bill, since in foreign wars those troops served under their own banners and fought in their own quarrel. At Minden the British fought rather as auxiliaries than principals, and much the same might be said of Wel lington's campaigns in the Peninsula : There were two objections to this bill, and he had not heard a satisfactory answer to either of them. The first was a constitutional objection to levying and training foreign troops in England and the next was, that it would discourage the efforts that were now so energetically making in England. If the alterations iu the Articles of War tended to exempt these foreign levies from corporal punishment, to which the British soldier was exposed, he thought no more dangerous course could be taken to excite the murmurs of the British regiments. If men were wanted, he thought that large bodies of trained troops might be obtained from India. He wished to ask the Go vernment whether any supplies of men or money for the support of this war were to be drawn from our colonies. The North American colonies were now as independent of England as Ireland was previous to the Union—the only tie iu both cases being that of the Crown. Yet was there over a war in which England was engaged that Ireland did not contribute her assistance? He believed that the North American provinces would be as ready now to contribute both men and money towards earring on this war. At all events, he was certain that if England would find the money, the North American provinces would be gratified to raise three or four regiments to share all the dangers and honours of the British army, the only difference being that the years usually passed by llritish troops in this country should be paused by the American troops in their Own country. Lord Derby added that after the vote of a former night he should not again trouble the house to divide, hut would content himself with recording his own negative to the third reading of the bill. Viscount HARDINGE expressed his approval of the measure, because he believed it to afford the means of obtaining the largest three they could at the earliest possible period. Though he bad every confidence in the army now in the Crimea, and in the spirit of the British people, still he could not think that would justify him in resisting the present propo sition. Earl GREY believed that the objections to the bill were founded on very vague apprehen-ions or ideas of danger. He considered that the Legislature would undertake a serious responsibility if :hey re fused the Governmont the means and powers now asked for to carry on the great war in which the country had engaged. Earl GRANVILLE also supported the bill, which, after some remarks from the Earl of iNlainiesbtuy and Lord Redesdale, was read a third time. On the question that the bill should pass, the Duke of NEWCASTLE consented to strike out the sth clause, to which Lord Ellenborough had objected, sanctioning changes in the Articles of War. Thus amended the bill was passed by the Peers. The bill was brought up and read a first time in the Commons on the same evening, and within a few minutes of its passing the Upper House. Oti Tuesday the second reading was moved by Lord J. RUSSELL. Much prejudice, he observed, has been excited against the measure out of doors, and exaggerated apprehensions seemed to be felt of its possible consequences. Nevertheless, the history of this country showed that a similar expedient had frequently been adopted in times past, often with great advantage, and always with perfect safety. In the reigns of Queen Elizabeth, of Cromwell, of William 111., and of Anne—by Marlborough and Wellington—whenever, in fact, England had engaged in continental war, foreign troops had been enlisted under English pay, and embodied as a portion of the British army. Admitting that the employment of German soldiers in the American war was not to be justified, Lord J. Russell urged that whenever this country embarked in war for the sake of main taining the equilibrium and preserving the peace of Europe, then was it altogether allowable to draw forces from every European nation. The present war possessed exactly the same character as our former contests, in that it was waged against a preponderating power, and presented no features that rendered advisable a departure from our ancient policy or abstinence from employing the expedients that had formerly proved so useful. I'remising that the severest call on our resources occurred at the commencement of a war, the noble lord detailed the nature and extent of the services which must imme• diately devolve upon the allied armies for the purpose of defending Turkey at all points from the dangers that threatened her. In the Crimea, in the Danubian principalities, and in Asia, they were called upon to resist a sovereign who commanded sixteen or eighteen corps d'armies, each as numerous us the force which we had already despatched to the Crimea. If we at tempted to supply reinforcements solely from native 1213 sources the risk must be incurred of sending out recruits imperfectly trained ; and he referred to the precepts and the example of the Duke of Welling ton in support of the conclusion that there was no national ilegradatiuu attending the employment of foreigners under such contingencies. Bristly corn batting the )assertion that the measure was uncon stitutional, Lord J. Russell adverted to the ad rap tandum argument against the engagement of hire hugs anti mercenaries to fight our battles, observing that the plea for employing only British troops would be inapplicable, except while we were fighting for a solely British object, which was nut the case at present. In the view of a possibly protracted war. accompanied by a constant drain upon the population. he considered the additional strength derivable from the assistance of foreign soldiers highly to be desired, and could perceive no substantial objection to its em ployment. Sir E. B. LYTTON moved as an amendment that the bill be read a second time that day six months. He proceeded to argue that the enlistment of aliens would chill the national spirit, which was already pouring in recruits to the army faster than they could be enrolled and enregimented. The very introduc tifin of the bill argued !aches in the Government, who had received abundant warnings of the magnitude of the war, and might have long since developed the military resources of the country sufficiently to dis pense with the beggarly aid contributed by a few thousand miscellaneous hirelings. He contended that the precedents cited in defence of the measure did not apply, and that the emergency by which it could alone be justified did not exile. No informa tion, he remarked, had been given es to the source whence the mercenary troops could be drawn, but he warned the house of the many dangers, present and prospective, that must arise from collecting into a focus, practising in war, and finally disbanding, the refugee members of distressed nationalities. De nouncing the bill as containing a " crawling proposi tion," the hon. baronet declared that any advantage which might accrue from it would be heavily paid for in the discredit at which it must be purchased. For all our required supplies of men the home market would be found the cheapest and the best. Mr. MONCKTON MILNER reminded the house that the war possessed nothing of an exclusively national character. It was waged for an European object, and in conjunction with a foreign ally. He accepted the measure with gratification, believing that the Government had done well to appeal for assistance in the struggle against a despotic power to the volun teers of liberty throughout Europe. Mr. ADDERI.EY complained of the insult passed upon the North American colonies when the Govern ment declined their offers of aid in men and money in favour of a band of foreign mercenaries. Mr. WATSON gave an unqualified support to the bill, on the ground that, having committed our army and our national honour to the work of taking Sebas topol, it was impossible to refuse any request which the Government might make for assistance to that army in prosecuting successfully their gigantic task. Mr. E. BALL contended that, by adopting the measure, they would but add one more calamity to the dire calamities of war already existing. Mr. M. Gimes deprecated the threat of resignation held out by Lord J. Russell. lie proceeded to com pare the employment of mercenaries to the savage warfare carried on in America, when the tomahawks of the Indians were enlisted in the warfare of civilised nations. The policy of the bill he believed to be most dangerous, for, if' they hired from Rome small state these 10,000 men, it might be that ere long they would have to defend that state, as well as Tur key, against the power of Russia. He could not be lieve that the result of the war would depend upon these 10,0(X) men, which could be but of small avail when contrasted with the enormous strength of the power against which they would be arrayed. Mr. J. G. PHILLINORK admitted the possibility of raising with effect a Polish legion to fight against Russia, but could nut approve the scheme for defend ing England by the agency of stipendiaries called from different countries, and inspired by nu feelings or patriotism. The measure, he believed, would in volve the country in danger and disgrace. The SECRETARY-AT. WAR replied to various objee dons urged against the bill, and explained the motives which had prompted the Government to propose it ; In England he rejoiced to acknowledge that the flow of recruits to the depius was rapid, and that it had been found possible to drill those recruits into soldiers in three or four mouths ; but experience had shown that the great majority who offered themselves fur enlistment were cemparati boys, little if at all above the lowest age—namely, which the regulations admitted, and when these yo soldiers came to be exposed to actual service they away with sickness and fatigue, which their frames not hardened enough to bear. Uenuany, un the hand, poissessed a numerous population of men in full inured to military life, accustomed to hardship, ready employment, and at the present moment exposed to in Buttering and destitution through the industrial enibiurniss zuenta prevalent in their own country. Here, he cow tended, was an opportunity of providing a mush Avowal reinforcement to tha army at the met of war, to supply eft I I