The Press. — London, England, 1858-02-13 00:00:00

Vrott6ings xnpriiatnent. SATURDAY, Fmn..6. Moth houses met this day for the purpose of pro ceeding to Buckingham Palace to present to her Majesty the congratulatory address on the marriage of the Princess Royal, agreed to on Friday evening. Their Lordships and the Commons were most graciously received by her Majesty at Buckingham Palace. Lord Stratford de Redcliffe took the oaths and his seat iu the Lards. HOUSE OF LORDS-MONDAY. VOTE OF THANKS TO THE ARMY AND NAVY, ETC. Lord PANBUTRE, in moving that the thanks of their lordships' house be presented to the Governor- General and the civil authorities in India for the energy and ability with which they had employed the resources at their command to suppress the mutinies in that country, and to the officers of her Majesty's army and navy and marines for the eminent skill and courage diplayed by them in the achieve ment of so many and such important triumphs over numerous bodies of the mutineers, and for the other high military qualities which had marked the dis charge of those arduous duties which they had so successfully performed, recapitulated at length all the brilliant services which the civil and military departments in the East had rendered to this country at this most trying crisis. Premising that the reaellion precipitated itself upon India like " an avalanche," Lord Panmure dwelt especially upon the great exertions of the Governor-General, his coolness, his foresight, and, above all, the spirit of organisa tion and self-command which, with the great aid of such men as Lord Harris, Lord Elphinstone, Sir John Lawrence, and Mr. Frere, had contributed so much to the safety of our Indian empire. To such men, and more especially to the noblemen whom he had just named, was it due that resources had been gathered to India from without, and those within effectually employed. His lordship then proceeded to advert to the great services of the military, to the gailantry and judgment shown by Sir Colin Camp bell, Sir James 0 utram, Sir Archdale Wilson, General Inglis, and Captain Peel, pointing out the signal instances of fervid zeal and courage with which each had served his country. His lordship also paid a feeling tribute of respect to the memories of those whom the vote of thanks of that house could now no longer reach,—of those who, like the gallant Have lock, had left behind them bright examples to the world of how a British officer should do in life, and how in the discharge of his duty he was prepared to die as a Christian and a soldier. The Earl of DERBY deeply regretted that on this occasion he could not accede to the proposition of the Government with that sincere cordiality with which he had been proud to co-operate in sup porting previous votes of thanks of a similar kind. He objected to an indiscriminate vote of thanks : The noble baron, in his opening observation, made a statement, and repeated it in the latter part of his speech, to the effect that the thanks of Parliament constituted the very highest honour which could be bestowed on any indi vidual, an honour most highly appreciated by those in the pu'olic service, and which should be granted only on rare occasions, when the expression of the views of Parliament embodied the concentrated opinions of the public at large concurring in those views. If, then, there is to be any value in these parliamentary votes of thanks, that value must depend on their being conveyed not only rarely, and on great and signal occasions, but with discrimination with respect to the indrviduals on whom the thanks are bestowed. (Hear, hear.) They must not be bestowed on individuals merely because they filled high situations at the time of great events, but should be granted only to those persona who, according to the unanimous opinion of the country, have fully and entirely vindicated their claim to so high a lEntour. ( Hear, hear.) Lord Canning's name had been most unwisely and unfairly associated with those of our naval and military officers, and it was not his fault if he was compelled to submit to them, not a condemnation of his conduct, but such considerations as would make it questionable whether it was right as yet to accede to the award of such an honour for such an Admi nistration as that which Lord Canning had con. ducted. The noble baron had said the rebellion was an avalanche which overwhelmed the country without a moment's warning : Now, so far from that being the case, unless State papers, Instead of being authentic documents, are tales and ro mances, there is no question that the Government had warnings, and continually disregarded them—( cheers ) from quarter after quarter, of the greatness of the danger. Hear, hear.) The noble baron opposite calls on me to belir testimony to the Gove rn or-General's energy and ability ; but I must say that that energy was not displayed so early and so effectively as I think it might have been. ( Hear, hear.) I think the warnings were disregarded. I think that the Governor-Lieneral blindly and wilfully shut THE PR SS, rEnittutrz 18,1858. his eyes to what others clearly saw, and that he perceived too late the peril, deeming and tlescrib!nt, t previously as not serious; but when his eyes were opened, and when he was awakened to the magnitude of the danger, I admit that then he did the best to meet the danger, and applied himself with ability to encounter it. (Hear, hear.) In the first instance, however, he rather underrated the nature of the revolt, and then I think the conduct of the Indian Government was characterised not by energy but by vacil lation. (Hear, hear.) lam far from endorsing or affirm ing all the allegations of the Calcutta petition ; but recollect that at this very moment, when it is proposed to vote thanks to the Governor-General of India, a very large pro- portion of the inhabitants of Calcutta have aent to this country a petition praying for his recall, founding that prayer on what they state to be his weak management of public affairs, and attributing to him qualities the very opposite of ability and energy—namely, vacillation and irresolution. Lord Canning's answer to that petition is not before the public, but I must say that to pass a vote of thanks to Lord Canning with that petition unanswered, appears like screening Lord Canning from the effects of future charges, and prejudging the case. ( Hear, hear.) Neither could Lord Derby agree with the name of Lord Harris being placed in the list of those des tined for those high honours as the thanks of that house. Madras had been so tranquil during the rebellion, that although that was creditable to the government of Lord Harris, yet the circumstances of Madras were entirely different from those of Bengal. Madras was a notoriously tranquil Presidency, and be did not, therefore, think that Lord Harris had earned the thanks of that house. His lordship then proceeded to bear his testimony to the inestimable merits of our naval and military authorities, whose services he eulogised in his most eloquent strain. Referring especially to the defence of Lucknow, the noble earl observed : I may be permitted, without in the slightest degree dis paraging the services of any of the other officers, to express my opinion, as I did before, that of all the events of this war even the successful siege of Delhi and the successful relief of Lucknow are not exceeded in interest and impor tance by the gallant and unparalleled defence of that small garrison of Lucknow. (Cheers.) I believe that, without disparaging those other events, the existence of that garri• son with their feeble means, against overwhelming odds, and under circumstances which might well have led them to despair, will stand almost unparalleled in history. I believe that from the general who held that important command down to the humblest soldier who shared in that unparalleled defence, and especially including those native troops to whom the noble baron has properly re ferred—l am firm in my conviction that there is not one of that gallant and heroic garrison who does not deserve, and who will not, I hope, receive, some signal individual mark of her Majesty's favour. (Loud cheers.) If the Victoria Cross can ever be well bestowed en masse, it would not be thrown away on men who could so endure, who had so dared, and had so nobly sustained. (Cheers.) Lord Derby then commented upon the remarkable absence in the proposed votes of the names of many eminent civilians—such as 'enables, the indigo planter, "who, when the authorities had deserted the station at Azimghnr, almost alone, with only the assistance of his own ryots, maintained himself for six weeks." Again, there was the name of Gubbins, an undistinguished name, but borne by a distin guished man, who by his influence and character kept down the mutiny in his district. There was Boyle, the civil engineer, who headed the little garri son of Arrah, and there " imitated or set the example to the defenders of Lucknow ; for what be did on a small scale was not unworthy to rank with the defence of Lucknow." Again, there was Mr. Money, who by " a splendid act of insubordination " dis obeyed an order, and maintained himself at Gya, and eventually carried away with him a very large amount of treasure which bad been abandoned. And lastly, there was Mr. Taylor of Patna. Lord Derby concluded by stating that, though he did not feel himself justified in dividing their lordships on the propriety of the vote, he felt that he should almost be failing in his duty it he refrained from protesting against the first paragraph in it. The Duke of ARGYLL defended Lord Canning at much length, and attributed to the firm and consi derate policy of the Governor-General no small influence in surmounting the enormous difficulties which bad beset the Indian Administration. The Duke of CAMBRIDGE thought that it would ill become him as Commander in-Chief to let such a vote of thanks pass in silence, no matter how ably it had already been discussed, without adding his meed of praise to the distinguished eulogies which had been so well and justly bestowed. He entirely coincided in that vote of thanks, and thought, how ever high was the reward which such praise from Parliament conferred, it was not more than the services of the brave men mentioned in the vote deserved and required at their country's hands. After a few words from Lord FALKLAND, The motion was agreed to unanimously. Her Majesty's gracious reply to the address of congratulation upon the marriage of the Princess Royal was read by the LORD CH ALSCELLOR. RELIGIOUS WORSHIP ACT AMENDMENT BILL. On the motion for the second reading of this bill, The Earl of SaLvresauay said that the debate on this bill had been adjourned from the short sitting 149 of Parliament before Christmas. There were now two bills before the house on this subject : the one introduced by himself, and the other by the most reverend prelate opposite, with the consent of the whole episcopal bench:— He felt that it would not be possible for him to carry his bill without irritating, frequent, and angry debates, frequent appeals to the country, and without ex— citing commotion between the clergy and laity. Under these circumstances he felt that it would be impossible for him to proceed further with the bill, and he intended therefore to conclude with a motion that he be permitted to withdraw the bill. CHURCH OF ENGLAND SPECIAL SERVICES BILL. On the motion of the Archbishop of CANTERBURY, who was almost totally inaudible in the gallery, this bill was read a second time. In explanation of the measure a discussion arose, in which the Bishops of London, Exeter,St.David's, and Llandaff took part, together with Viscount Dun gannon and the Earl of Derby, who was glad his noble friend had withdrawn his measure, as it was more satisfactory to have a bill upon which all the prelates were agreed : He hoped, however, that it would 'always be considered as aubsidia•y and auxiliary to the parochial services, and take effect wherever the latter was not sufficient. He was not prepared to say that much gosd might not arise from special services in Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's, and Exeter Hall, and certainly it was a very remarkable fact, that there appeared to be little ur no difficulty in attracting the people into church. Every where there had been overwhelming congregations, and in St. Margaret's a special service had been arranged in order to accommodate the overflow from Westminster Abbey Let them not, however, look upon these services as sub stitutes for the parochial service. The second reading was then agreed to, and their lordships adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS—Mom:IIY. NEW WENNER°. Sir H. R%WLISSON and Lord J. BaowNE took the oaths and their seats, the one for Reigate, the other for the county Mayo. Her Majesty's gracious reply to the address of congratulation upon the marriage of the Princess Royal was read by the SPEAKER. AMB kSSADOII . B CHAPEL, PARIS. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, in reply to Mr. Wise, said that no offer bad been made to our ambassador to exonerate the English Govarnmznt from the liability they had incurred ; but an offer had been made that would have that effect if a certain condition were complied with, which it was in the discretion of the French Government to grant. There were some legal difficulties in the way, but the matter had been laid before the French Government, and if a favour able answer was received it would be arranged. CAVALRY (INDIA.) Captain Vrvux wished to know whether there was any intention of increasing the force of the cavalry regiments in India, or of adding to their number by new regiments. Sir J. RAMSDEN said that arrangements had been made for reinforcing the cavalry in the same manner as the rest of the forces in India were maintained. There was 'no preFent intention of increasing the strength of the cavalry regiments now there, or of sending out other regiments. That must depend upon the course of events and the intelligence re ceived from India. LTIOI WITH INDIA. Mr. CRAWFORD asked the First Lord of the Trea sury whether her Majesty's Government had entered into any arrangements for extending the Mediter ranean system of telegraphs to Alexandria, and whether any arrangements bad been concluded, or were now under the consideration of her Nfajesty's Government, for bringing India into telegraphio communication with this country by the way of Egypt and the Red Sea, or by any other route. Lord PLLMERSTON The arrangements to which the hon. gentleman hag alluded are matters of great importance, and excite great attention on the part of her Majesty's Government. Several communications have been received from different parties with reference to the continuation of the telegraphic communication to Alexandria, but her Majesty's Govern— ment have not yet been able to make any anal arrangements with any of thrum parties. As regards the continuation of the telegraphic communication along the Red Sea, and so to India, I do not think any proposal has yet been laid before the Government. THE " CAOLIARI." Lord PALMERSTON. replying to Mr. Ridley, stated that some despatches had been received by the Go vernment respecting the seizure of the Cagliari steamer, and that some questions on the subject had been submitted to the law officers of the Crown, but the affair bad not, as he believed, attained such ripeness as justified a production of the documents to the house. GENERAL ASHBUENTIAII. Lord PALMERSTON, in reply to a question put by Mr. Warren, said it wits well known that General Ashburnham had been sent to take the command of