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

THE PRESS. otherwise : Provided always, That it shall not be lawful for such Recruit to apply his thumb to his nose by way of ceremony before a Justice of the Peace ; And That all Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers, Drummers, and Private Soldiers enlisting or commissioned under this Act shall take such Oath or Oaths, in their peculiar idiom, as they shall dictate for their fidelity during their continuance in her Majesty's Service. VI. It shall be lawful for her Majesty to cause as many such Foreigners to be enlisted in her Service as can be tempted by the offer of a high bounty : Provided always, That not more than five persons in every company shall speak the same tongue, to prevent the danger of secret societies being formed among them for the massacre of their Officers, the plunder of the localities in which they may be stationed, or the tiring of her Majesty's Dockyards and Arsenals which they may be entrusted to guard. VII. It shall be lawful for her Majesty, if she shall see fit, to make Supplemental Articles of War, to apply to persons enlisting under this Act, to the effect that such persons may be chained to the guns they are appointed to serve, according to the practice of the Chinese, or picketted to the ground, or hobbled about the ankles, as cattle are secured, to prevent their deserting to the enemy : Provided always, That, as mercenaries have an undoubted right, according to all precedent and experience, to desert in certain proportions to the enemy, it shall be lawful for a number not exceeding one-fourth of those on actual duty in the field, to go over to the said enemy, taking with them their arms, ammunition, and any information they can obtain ; And that a number not exceeding three in any one company shall be at liberty to simultaneously correspond with the said enemy. ON THE FOREIGN ENLISTMENT ACT. " Come Switzers, and come Polanders, come Alemans and Huns, " Our country needs stout hands and hearts—she cannot trust her sons ; " She has no faith in her own blood, is doubtful of herself— " Come fight beneath her banners, she is prodigal of pelf. of the Porte, and preserve the equilibrium of power in Europe, Mr. Cobden contended that at the present moment we had attained everything that was neces sary for securing our object, and sketched in con siderable detail the diplomatic situation of affairs, drawing, therefore, the inference that ample gua rantees were already obtained ag ainst the peril of Russian egression. He believed that peace could now be concluded on terms that fully satisfied all the demands of Lonour or interest, and de nounced the Quixotic spirit which inspired us to prolong an unnecessary conflict for the mere idea that we were supporting the weak against the strong. The plain question was this—Was the object of the war worth its cost ?—and, reckoning in this case not only the treasures, but the human lives and material progress that must be sacrificed, he felt compelled to decide that question in the negative. Considered as a blow against an enemy, our present operations were conducted on a wrong system. The capture of Sebastopol, if we achieved it, would not materially weaken Russia. Our ultimate difficulty would be found to lie in preserving Turkey from melting away under her internal corruption ; and this, as well as all the other difficulties that surrounded us, would, he argued, be much better solved by peace than by war. If the pending struggle were once ended, lie was assured that none of the parties engaged would be very eager to recommence it. Mr. CORRY contended that abundant resources were at hand, and should be rendered available, ra ther than adopt so dangerous an expedient as that now proposed by the Government. Mr. PHILLIMORE dissected the arguments that had been adduced in opposition to the measure, and de nied their cogency. Mr. SANDERS was convinced that public opinion, if allowed the opportunity, would be unanimously pro nounced in condemnation of the bill. Mr. D. SEYIdOUR, from his own experience at a recent meeting of his constituents, denied that the proposition was unpopular. Lord LOVAIN supported the amendment, consider ing the bill detrimental to the army, and discredit. able to the country at large. Sir C. PERRY characterised Mr. Cobden's speech as nopportune. In the present critical position of ffairs all strictures on the conduct of the war were out of place. The Russians were employing every devise to hurry their reinforcements into the Crimea, and had set an example which it behoved us to follow, it' we hoped to avoid discomfiture. The hon. baronet proceeded to admit the excellence, but questioned the practicability, of the system of non intervention. The foreigners whom we chiefly ex pected to enlist under the bill were Germans, who, in spite of the despotic tendencies of their Sovereign, were as a people imbued with a high spirit of honour and cordial sympsthies for liberty. ...II SATURDAY, " What matter that her soldiers pining iu the sickly Caribees " Pray with dying lips to serve her—she has need of none of these ; " What matter that in Hiudoston i.rave spirits waste away, " Perishing of dull inaction, thirsting for the glorious fray ! " What matter that in far off climes where the St. Lawrence flows " Hochelaga's sturdy yeomen curse their spiritless repose, " And pray that they may prove their love fur their forefathers' land " By striking yet one blow for her upon the Russian's strand ? " Thus spake the Sovereign's Ministers, pale counsellors of fear ; Their words came ringing like a knell in each true Briton's ear ; The Peers of England looked aghast, the Commons held their 'breath, And many a cheek turned white with shame that never blenched at death. No Lord am I not Senator, a man of humble mould, But I will speak a e truth to-day as truth should aye be told; No pedant rules of Parliament shall check my honest words, No fear of Whiggici petulance, no love of Peelite Lords. I say that ye are libelling our bravest and our best, Blaspheming e'en the souls of those who won their glorious rest 'Through torment and through bloody wounds, through pestilence and pain-- Ye libel living heroes and ye desecrate the slain. The spirits of the slaughter'd by dark Alma's waters slain, The fiery souls who rushed to death on Balaklava's plain, The stern, unyielding warriors of Inkermann's red fight, Felt their wounds bleeding fresh again at your cold words that night. nh, England ! hear the warning voice of those who love thee well, Of those who long to die for thee, e'en as their brethren fell ; 'Tis but our heritage we ask, our brothers rights we claim, They have died to do thee honour, we but ask to do the same. Have thy sons failed thee, mother ? have they grudged thee their best blood? Oh, spurn all cowards from thee, stand erect in noble mood ; Trust not thy honour, mother, to these mercenary slaves, We pray thee by our brethren's wounds, we warn thee by their graves. Mr. EVELYN complained that the Government had concealed their purpose while proposing the bill, which for his own part he declined to take on trust. Mr. BENTINCK also opposed the bill, and expressed his total want of confidence in the Government in respect of their management of the war. Lord EBItINOTON was persuaded that the struggle we were now carrying on in defence of the liberties of Europe were watched with interest by the Euro pean nations. He thought, therefore, that there could be little difficulty and no discredit in our ob ' taining recruits among those nations to assist us in the conflict. Mr. P. O'BRIEN, though professing himself no supporter of the Government, accepted the bill as a means of affording relief to the gallant army in the Crimea. Mr. COWAN disliked the bill, but consented to vote for it because the Government and the commander in-chief had affirmed it to be necessary. Dr. MITCHELL, and Sir J. FITZGERALD having spoken, Lord JOHN RUN3ELL replied, adverting to some of the principal arguments adduced in opposition to the measure, and criticising at some length the speech of Mr. Cobden. After delineating the recent course of events in the East of Europe, he declared that the allied powers were still willing to treat with Russia on the basis of the "four points," whose import he explained, and submitted that they atlbrded terms at once prudent and moderate for the re establishment of peace. There was no intention of leaving Russia other than a powerful and independent btate, but it was impossible to allow her to prosecute her scheme for the absorption of Turkey, and if the Czar still in sisted on carrying that project into execution the Go vernment had reason to rely upon the complete evaporation of Austria in opposing his designs. Sir J. PAKINGTON, in a speech of great eloquence and power, enforced the objection against the measure, declaring that the Ministers had left all the arrangements of their opponents practically unanswered. Mr. BRIGHT displayed some warmth in defending Mr. Cobden from the strictures of Lord J. Russell, whom he charged with having mistaken and mis stated his arguments. The hon. member went on to comment upon the degraded state of Turkey, declaring that in supporting the Porte against Russia we were fighting for a hopeless cause anda worthless ally. Reviewing th e Ministerial policy in relation to the war, he inveighed in vehement terms • against their conduct, and proclaimed them guilty for all the suffering and bloodshed that had ensued. The house then divided. For the third reading, 178; against 185—majority, 38. The bill was then read a third time and passed, and the house ad journed ' -- • - i)* 1P rfgg+ LONDON, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 23,1854. POSTSCRIPT. HOUSE OF LORDS.—FRIDAY. The Militia Bill was read a third time and passed Returns were ordered on the motion of Lord Monteagle respecting the issue of Deficiency Bills, and exhibiting the present state of the unfunded Debt.. The house adjourned, after a brief sitting, until this day (Saturday). HOUSE OF COMMONS.—FRIDAN. In reply to a question from Major Reed, the Se cretary at-War stated that preparations were making to arm the whole British army with the Minik rifle. FOREIGNERS ENLISTMENT BILL. The third reading of this bill was moved by Lord Yohn RUSSELL, and opposed by Sir E. DERING, who urged a variety of practical objections to the measure- He doubted whether the foreigners whom it was pro. posed to enlist, could be actually organised into an effective force, and transported to the seat of war more easily or quickly than a similar force of native recruits. If difficulties were experienced in raising men at home, the sufficient remedy lay in improving the pay and status of the private soldiers. Mr. COBDEN believed that many hon. represent atives had voted under a sense of the existing emer gency of the subject, in oprosition to their own con scientious conviction, and considered it as one of the g reat evils of war that it bad thus demoralised the legislature. Proceeding to discuss the wider questions arising out of the present complaint, he declared that the real object of the war was much misrepresented. The English people did not fight for the free navigation of the Black Sea or the Danube, nor to keep faith with Turkey according to the tenor of treaties, hut because they wished to repress Russia, which was not merely a despotic and oppressive power itself, hut also the abettor of Austria in oppressing Poland and Hungary. This, he remarked, was the popular view of the subject, with respect to which he expressed his own repugnance to undertaking a propagandism of liberty at the point of the sword. Adverting to the statesman's view ; which assigned as the motive for hostilities our desire to maintain the independence /