The Press. — London, England, 1858-01-23 00:00:00

I 1 I 1 THE 'PRESS, JANUARY 23, 1858. • proportion will appear even of still greater degree w hen our readers recollect how, as was shown in former numbers of this Journal, the return in property tax and population obtained by Mr. DISRAELI, proved how great was the injustice done to the assessed property in the counties as contrasted with that of the boroughs. Was it any wonder, therefore, when such facts aro closely scanned, that Mr. DISRAELI should have expressed himself to the effect that to some extent " factious considerations" should have interfered with the Reform arrangements in 1832? Can it be any cause fn. surprise that even the Coalition Cabinet should have proposed that forty-six members should be added to the eounty repro sentation? Another conclusion of still greater moment is to be deduced from the study of the above electoral figures. The " remedial agencies of " the common sense and the good feelings of " Englishmen " might have alleviated the injustice done to the Conservative interest in 1832; but the working of the Union with Ireland, and the revolution in our sister country subsequent to the Emancipation Act of 1829, have exercised most disturbing in fluence upon our whole Parliamentary system. Sir JAMES STEPHEN, in his essay on the life of WILBERFORCE, has shown how the influence of the Irish Members, who had no West Indian estates, produced a wrong effect on legislation relating to the slave trade in 1806 ; and Sir ARCHIBALD ALISON has chronicled the fact that in the first instance the Reform Bill of Earl GREY was carried by a majority arising from the Irish Members, as there was a decisive majority of English and Scotch Members against the Bill of 1831. In subsequent periods the Cabinet of Lord MELBOURNE had a considerable majority of English Members opposed to it; but the state of the Irish representation turned the scale against the Conservative party. We must recollect that a large portion of the counties of Ireland present social and electoral characteristics entirely different from our counties in England. Even the vast territorial influences of a great Whig proprietary like the Duke of DEvoNSHIRE, the Marquis of LANSDOWNE, and others, count for little in Irish " counties," where a few priests assembled in open or private conclave virtually choose the county members. This disturbing influence, however, would disappear if the Roman Catholic clergy gave up interfering in au organised way upon electioneering. They interfered for the first time actively in elec tions in 1826, at a period when in the Irish representation the Tory party had a slight preponderance. Since that time the influence of the tribunitian clergy at elections has been, on an average taken from six general elections, fully equivalent to a subtraction of fifteen Conservative Members from the representation of Ireland, making a difference of thirty votes upon a division in the Parlialnent of the empire. Considerations like these are of much impor tance, and cannot be too forcibly impressed on the public mind. Conservatives should make themselves specially and habitually familiar with them ; for under the specious pretext of " regulating the laws of the franchise an artful and most dangerous aggression on the Conservative interest may be meditated, and even attempted. In such possible emer gencies to be prepared against a surprise is the best policy. THE RECRUITING DIFFICULTY. THE subject of recruiting the ranks of our regular forces is becoming of grave impor tance. It may be very politic for the Premier in a hectoring, after-dinner speech, amid the cheers of his followers, to " let continental " nations know that England is as well pre " pared as ever to despatch an army from her " shores ;" it may be very patriotic in the leading journal to wind up a slashing article on the recent triumphs in the East with the announcement that " long ago every soldier " sent to India has been replaced by a suc " cessor ;" but after all, the questio n is not whether the regular army can be " replaced " at home by calling out the Militia—it is rather whether the men who become unfit for service in India can be " replaced " from England. In order to answer the question we will appeal to the last letter of the Bengal correspondent of the Times, who, perhaps, may be considered as good an authority on this point as the writer of the leading article. From him we learn that our European force in Bengal represents about 25,000 effectives, while the casualties amount on an average to 300 a week, or 1,350 a month, exclusive of losses by sickness. Five thousand additional troops are expected at Calcutta, and, assuming their casualties to bear the same relative propor tion, 1,000 men per week will be required to keep the whole force up to its proper strength, even if the army is perfectly healthy. It must also be remembered that the unhealthy season will shortly begin, and then it may be expected that the long forced marches, the hard fight ing, and the hardships incident to a campaign, more' especially when transport is inefficient, will tell with fearful weight on the unseasoned troops who have hitherto been kept up by temporary excitement. Nor must we forget that the European troops in the Presidencies of Madras and Bombay amount to 18,000 mea ; and although their casualties are not likely to be so heavy as those in the Bengal army, we shall hardly err on the side of exaggeration if we place them at 500 men a month. Now, what are our means of replacing these men? As we stated in our last impression, there has been a considerable falling off in the numbers of our recruits ; and although during the last week this falling off has been some what diminished, yet distributed as the men must be among the newly raised battalions, the regiments at home and abroad, and the Indian depots, the total amount is quite inade quate to meet the present emergency. The Militia, also—that national force which has always been relied upon as the nursery for the Line, and which came forward so nobly in our struggle with Russia—has not yet contri buted one thousand men in the present crisis, for reasons which our readers will be at no loss to understand. On the whole, therefore, in answer to applications from the East India Company, the Commander in-Chief has founi it necessary to state that it will tax his ener gies to the utmost to furnish 1,000 men a month as reinforcements for the whole of India. Four additional regiments are, indeed, on their way from Gibraltar, Malta, and the Cape, but when they have arrived their strength must also be kept up, and as we can not be perpetually sending out fresh regiments the number of drafts requisite will be increased rather than diminished. We wish we could say that the recruits obtained are of a satisfactory character. Unfor tunately no one acquainted with . the subject will for a moment deny that they are drawn from the scum of the population ; and the mere fact that within the last few days it has been found necessary to reduce the present low standard of five feet four inches to five feet three inches is of itself sufficient to prove that the supply of recruits is insufficient to meet the demands of the service. The East India Company has requested that only seasoned troops may be sent out; but the Commander-in-Chief has replied that he has nothing but raw recruits at his disposal. Most of our readers will probably recollect Lord Jot's 14188E1.1:s announcement, in the House of Commons, that "My Lord " RAGLAN says that the drafts sent out to him " in the Crimea serve but to encumber his hos pitals ," and what fate awaits these miserable, half-trained, half-disciplined youths in arrack drinking Calcutta, before ever encountering the hardships of a campaign, it hardly requires the skill of a prophet to divine. What measures, then, can be taken for ameliorating this state of affairs? The ques tion is, in truth, no easy one to answer. Having disgusted our Militia and effectually broken up our old recruiting connection by the manner in which the reduction of tho army was carried out at the conclusion of the late war, any means which may now be put in practice must of necessity be empirical and open to the correction of experience. But, after all, it would seem but common sense to act on the principle of supply and demand. 75 If the martial ardour of our youth has been checked, and if men are still wanted, the price offered for them should be raised. If a man can obtain 2s 61 or 3s. a day as a labourer, will he sacrifice his liberty and risk his life for Is. 21? The difficulty, however, is only re moved a step further. A high bounty is in the opinion of the most competent military authorities but a premium onedesertion, and it is stated that men so obtained cannot be kept at their colours, or if kept are not worth keep ing. So also the field allowance of 6d. a day granted to our soldiers in the Crimea, when they had no means of spending it legitimately, only served to increase the crime of drunken ness to an almost incredible extent. But our object is to induce men of respect able character to enlist. It appears, therefore, that some scheme bhould be devised which should possess the advantages without the drawbacks of a higher rate of pay. No doubt a system of military savings-banks might be turned to considerable account. If 6d. a day, for instance, were placed to the soldier's credit, and allowe l to accumulate until he obtained either his discharge or a commission, some effect upon the class which it is desirable to influence would at once be visible The period of service might also be advantageously reduced. But when • all is done, we shall still have only mitigated the evil. The dislike to a soldier's life, only natural among a population so prosperous as our own, and the distrust inspired by Govern ment will still operate conjointly to the detri ment of the English army. The Premier is a universal genius. Now is the time for him to show it. Lord PANNIUSE is a great military Minister; let him now tax his resources. Here is a practical difficulty, and there is a popular Government. If the Government cannot conquer the difficulty, the difficulty ere long will conquer the Government. THE COURTS OF BANKRUPTCY. TT is, perhaps, impossible that men should, even under ordinary circumstances, have perused the long list of failures consequent on the recent monetary crisis without turning eyes of unwonted apprehension towards that portion of our legal system on which creditors are ultimately dependent for the assertion of their rights. Unhappily, recent events have not tended to increase the confidence, or rather to diminish the want of confidence, with which the public regards the Court of Bankruptcy. And it may therefore be not uninteresting to inquire, while this crowd of visitors is on the road to Basinghall-street, what sort of reception they are likely to meet I with—what measure of justice to receive. But certainly the disfavour with which these courts are undoubtedly regarded can not fairly be attributed to any laxity in the mode of procedure or in the administration of the law. For all ordinary cases of commer cial imprudence the power of suspending the certificate, which the Commissioner possesses, certainly affords a sufficient remedy. In those more doubtful cases, in which imprudence passes into crime, whatever other shield the debtor may have against the consequences of his own acts, he can obtain no certificate which will avail him ; while, on the other hand, the ordeal through which he must pass is of no ordinary severity. Indeed, the procedure of the Courts of Bankruptcy is perhaps rather open to the charge of harshness than of leniency. Any man, who seeks their protection, or even who is forced by his creditors within their pale, must answer (and that truly on pain of an indictment for perjury) any questions which may be put to him touching " his trade, deal ings, or estate," and these extorted answers may be used against him in ulterior proceed ings. ,This was the decision of the Court of Criminal Appeal in the recent case of " The Queen v. Scott." That decision was not arrived at without an energetic protest from one of the members of the court. But that decision is now law ; and the Courts of Bank ruptcy are the only places in England where a man can be compelled to criminate himself. But however alien to the spirit of our law, it is a principle too beneficial in its operation ... ‘ 1 i I