The Press. — London, England, 1856-05-10 00:00:00

MAY 10, 1856. enemy's gag—contended that they would be fatal to us - a s a maritime power when engaged in war, and, if not reversed, result in the complete loss of our mari time superiority. !dr. CARDWELL observed that the concession we had made upon the point of free ships making free So , (19 was made to the universal iuteraats of human ity and of j ust ice to neutrals. Upon the w hole, he believed that we should be great gainers by avoiding hereafter wars into which a rigid enforce ment of these maritime rights would lead us. Mr. S. FITZGERALD said the treaty did not, in hie view, fulfil the two most important objects of the war— that relating to the Christian population of Turkey, which he considered worse offthan before the war, and the destruction of the preponderance of Russia in the Black Sea. As the matter stood, Russia might possess an unlimitect number of transports and of go-boats, which might carry a large force from the Sea of Azoff, or even from Sebastopol, to Constanti nople. By permitting Russia to reconstruct the Cir cassian forts, we recognised her right to the sur • rounding territory, a right we had hitherto never recognised. He could not say that the treaty " fully accomplished the great object for which the war was undertaken." Mr. MILNER GIBSON objected in toto to our gua ranteeing the existence of the Ottoman empire, and certainly not unless we reserved such a right of inter ference in its internal government as would enable us to prevent Turkey from dragging us into a war at any period. lie approved of the declaration of maritime law attached to the protocols. Mr. WHITESIDE observed that there were grave points involved in the question connected with the treaty and the protocols—such as Circassia, the press of Belgium, to the extinguishment of the liberty of which Lord Clarendon bad agreed, and Italy— which could not be disposed of by an incidental discussion, and he reserved the right of debating them hereafter. Mr. GLADSTONE said the general benefit achieved for Europe by the war was far more extended than any stipulation that could be put upon paper. With respect to the stipulations affecting the principalities, he Mould have preferred that a more substantive independent existence had been secured for them, and the neutralisation of the Black Sea he thought not free from pitfalls which might at some future day prove deeper than the Government anticipated. Neither did he think the arrangemerts made relative to the Christians free from the danger of future complications. The proposal to submit future differ ences to national arbitration he considered a great triumph, but unless a rule was laid down that no nation should resort to arbitration until she had reduced her claims to a minimum and was prepared to support them by force, the system of arbitration would give encouragement to the trumping up of untenable claims and bad cases in the mere hope of getting something out of the diplomatic contention. With respect to what took plate at the sitting on the Bth April, he entertained grave doubts of the pru dence of the discussion. He considered it a most unfortunate mishap that an article condemning the liberty of the press in Belgium should have been signed by Lord Clarendon, and he felt confident that Parliament would not and could not support or sympathise with such a sentiment. The Belgian press was not unlicensed or uncontrolled by law. In 1'52 a law was passed condemning to a tine of from 1001 to 2,000 f., and from three months' to two years' Imprisonment, any person who should attack the authority of any foreign Government; and when a trial took place under that law, the Belgian Govern ment took upon itself the odium of prosecution : What is now suggested ( continued the right hon. gentle man) on the vague pretence of satisfying " a European necessity," is that the Belgian people should be required to change by a deed of their own the law relating to the press, and to do so in such a manner as to deprive it of the see . arty and protection which trial by jury is calculated to afford. (Hear, hear.) The history of Belgium is that of averY small fraction of Europe. But though small phy sically, and as viewed cn the map, morally it occupies a large position. The spirit of their forefathers dwells in unbroken force within the bosoms of the Belgian people— (Hear, hear)—and as it was the object of these conferences to dispel the clouds of war, not to create them, and to pro mote, not tumult and disorder, but peace and harmony among nations, I think it right to point out as clearly as it is possible for an independent member of Parliament to do so, that this appeal to a people gallant and high spirited as the Belgians are—an appeal which appears to be con templated under the compulsion of foreign, and, some of them, remote powers, and having for its object the limits, non by the Belgians of their own dearest rights and most cherished liberties—is not a policy which tends to clear tic_ politic a l h or i zon, b ut rather one wh i ch w ill d ar k en an d disturb it, and c as t g l oom an d d espon d ency over a p ros p ec t otherwise brilliant and joyous. (Cheers.) Mr. HAD FIELD move d t h e a dj ournment o f th e house ; but, upon Lord Palmerston's request to re consider his motion, rose, and amidst considerable interruption attempted to address the house, and persisted in moving an amendment " that her IlaJesty would endeavour, with the other European ~~ enemy us ass not re time s Mr. had m go , (19 1111111a1 whole avoidi mat Mr. view, l that which the dr Black posse` gun-b Sea of nople, cassia round vcogi " full. war W Mr. ranter certai fermi( us to any rnariti Mr points treaty press of wh which diseu , them Mr. for F. any el revel he sh indep , and tl not fr day I Neith to tit comp) ences trittru uatiot retitle to sus would unten gettin IVith Bth A deuce nutor libert' signet Pulls syrup press 1A52 1001 impri autho trial ment man) neeess to char press, seearil afford. very sicslly large unbrol (Hear to disl mote, MOPE it IS pi do s o , as the temph them, Lion to , Owls] the po disturl others Mr, house eonsic interr persis 1 11,jee • THE PRESS. powers, to negotiate in favour of commerce, and make the peace permanent." Lord PALMERSTON contended that the objects of the war—viz., rescuing Turkey from assaults, diplomatic, military, and naval, and securing the in dependence of the Sultan—had been fully accom plished, and in two short years. The arrangement regarding the Principalities he considered to be the best that could be made for their ultimate interests, and as to the navigation of the Danube, the settle ment come to was preferable to any proposed at a former period of the war; it gave Turkey an infi nitely better frontier on the north. The neutralisa tion of the Black Sea had been said to be only the old proposal of limitation; but it was limitation with out counterpoise and within narrow bounds. As to Nicolaieff, we bad the assurance of Count Orloff that the Emperor of Russia would not build there or in the Sea of Azoff any other vessels than those which by the convention with Turkey he was allowed to keep in the Black Sea, and this assurance ought, he thought, to be satisfactory if any reliance were to be placed upon treaties. To the charge that the Cir cassians had been abandoned and handed over to the Russians, he replied that we could not hand over what was never in our possession. No arrangements had been entered into with Schamyl, who resided in Daghestan, on the shores, not of the Black Sea, but the Caspian ; and there bad been no communication with the Cireassians Proper, south of the Kuban ; so that there was no ground upon which we could im pose ur on Russia any stipulation regarding them. It was a misrepresentation to say that anything im portant for the defence of Turkey turned one way or the other upon the rebuilding by Russia of forts upon an unhealthy shore. Nothing had altered the con dition of Russia with relation to the eastern coast of the Black Sea. With regard to the Christian sub jects of the Porte, every one, he observed, had ad mitted that the firman of the Sultan was perfectly satisfactory in its terms and conditions; the only doubt was whether it would be adhered to. But if it were revoked (a thing highly improbable), or violated, the allied powers, parties to the treaty, would have a moral right to remonstrate. On the other hand, the treaty entered into between France, England, and Norway, provided against the creation of a Russian arsenal in the north of Norway ; while the stipulations with respect to the Aland Isles secured Sweden, and placed a material barrier between Russia and the north of Europe. The noble lord then alluded to the change in the mari time law, and maintained that in time of war Eng land would be :Ale nation to benefit by this alteration of the law if it should become general, though he admitted that the smaller neutral powers would ne cessarily benefit most. With respect to the sitting of the Bth of April, the representatives of England and France were justified in calling attention to t he ►misgovernment of Rome and Naples, and said that the continued foreign military occupation of Italy was a question demanding grave consideration. On the question of the " Belgian Press," he justified the line of conduct adopted by Lord Clarendon, and as • sured the house that the British Government would be " no party to any interference with an independent nation with the view of dictating the steps she should take to gag the press." In conclusion, the noble lord declared his belief that this war had settled division in every part of Europe that north, south, east, or west, he saw nothing but hope and consolation. The amendment was then withdrawn, and the Address agreed to without a division. Mr. E. DENISON, on Wednesday, brought up the report on the Address, which it was resolved should be presented to the queen on a day appointed by her Majesty. THE ADDRESS. Both houses met at two o'clock on Thursday, and immediately proceeded to Buckingham Palace to present to the Queen the Address adopted in answer to her Majesty's Message announcing the re estab lishment of peace. On reassembling, at five o'clock, The LORD CuAttoELLon in the Lords, and the SPEAKER in the Commons, rend her Majesty's answer, which was in the following terms : I receive with sincere pleasure the loyal and dutiful Ad dress which you have presented to we on this occasion. I heartily thank you for your cordial co-operation in the measures which I considered necessary for the prosecu• Lion of a war, which, iu conjunction with my allies, I have been enabled to conduct to an honourable and successful termination, by the full accomplishment of the objects for which it was undertaken. It is most satisfactory to me to feel that peace has been re-established on a basis which affords the best security for its permanence, and I trust that, by God's blessing, it may long continue to promote the progress of civilisation and the happiness and welfare of mankind. GENERAL WILLIAMS. Earl GRANVILLE in the Lords, and Lord PALimas- TON in the Commons, ou Thursday, presented a message from the Queen, in which her Majesty in formed the houses that, being desirous of con- '; 439 ferring a mark of her approbation on General Williams for his eminent services as her Majesty's commissioner, and particularly for his gallant do. fence of Kars, she had been pleased to secure to Sir William Williams a pension 0f.1,0001. per annum for the term of his natural life. The noble lords, in moving that her Majesty's gracious message be taken into consideration on Friday, added that her Majesty had been graciously pleased to give direc tions that the dignity of baronet should be conferred upon Sir William Williams, by the style and title of Sir William Williams of Kars. The announcement was received in both houses with loud cheers. THANKS TO THE ARMY, NAVY, AND MARINES. Lord PANIII:RE, on Thursday; rose to move:— That the thanks of this house be given to the officers of the navy, army, and Royal Marines who have taken part in the operations of the late war, fur the meritorious and eminent services which they have rendered to the Queen and the country during the course of the war. That this house doth highly approve and acknowledge the services of the petty and non-commissioned officers and men of the navy, army, and Royal Marines who have taken part in the operations of the late war ; and that the same be communicated to them by the commanders of the several ships and corps, who are respectively desired to thank those under their commands for their exemplary and gallant behaviour. That the thanks of this house be given to the officers of the several corns of militia which have been embodied in Great Britain and Ireland during the course of the war, for the zealous and meritorious services which, at home and abroad, they have rendered to their Queen and country. That this house doth highly approve and acknowledge the services of the non-commissioned officers and men of the several corps of militia which have been embodied in Great Britain or Ireland during the course of the war, and that the same be communicated to them by the command ing officers of the several corps, who are desired to thank them for their patriotic conduct. The noble lord, in enumerating the services of the army, navy, and foreign legionaries engaged in the late war, commenced with the navy, and claimed for them the gratitude of the country for their services in the Baltic, the Black Sea, and the Sea of Azoff, and the valuable assistance rendered by them on every occa sion to the army. Besides these services, the navy had furnished transport for 435,000 men, 51,000 horses, and 310,000 tons of stores. Lord Panmure, paying a tribute to the zeal of Admiral Boxer at Bala klava, as the first man to organise an admirable system in that harbour, proceeded briefly to touch upon the gallant services of the army, and paid a high tribute to the talents and exertions of Lord Raglan; and con fining himself almost entirely to the comparative state of health of the forces in the Crimea and at home, he read from official returns a statement of the losses made up to the 31st of March last, by which it appeared our total losses from every cause, killed in action and deaths from wounds and disease, amounted to 270 officers and 22,460 men. The noble lord then alluded to the Foreign Legions, which amounted now to 15,790 men, stated that they were admirably organised and disciplined, and expressed a hope that when the time came to dispense with their services, we should treat them in such a manner as would do credit to the English name. Lord Pan more next adverted to the services of the militia, which had given 33,000 to the regular army, and said he truste.l that the force would not be permitted to subside, nor lose its present efficiency; and, with an expression of approbation of the cordial assistance derived from our allies, concluded by an appeal to the house not to hastily desire a general reduction of our forces : Before I sit down T would earnestly entreat your lord ships, now that peace is restored, not to be in a hurry to weaken that imposing navy which has been collected after two years of war, or to part with that fine atm noble army which we have now on foot. We cannot forget that at the commencement of this war, to use the mildest language, we found the greatest inconvenience frog the want of in struction under which our officers were labouring, and from their being unaccustomed to mare our troops in any thing like masses. You have now an army formed in masses ; let me advise you to keep it. (Hear, hear.) Yon have now an army formed in divisions end brigades ; let me advise and entreat your lordships not to lose sight of that formation, but to instruct your officers and men in the movement of these bodies, and to keep them accus tomed to them. Above all, I entreat you, now that peace has begun, not to rush back to that false economy of former times, for which I blame no Government in parti cular, for all were equally to blame. We have learned a lesson from the late war, and I trust that that lesson will not be forgotten. A fair and proper economy ought of course to be observed, but I hope we shall not be in a hurry to revert to that false economy which, in truth, when an army has to be raised to a war standing, is the cause of much additional and unnecessary outlay. If at the be ginning of this war our army had been as efficiently organised as it is at the present moment, we could have increased it at much less expense and with much more rapidity. I hope, therefore, that the country will not give way to the I,leasures of a false economy, but will main tain the army in such a state of organisation and discipline as shall enable us at any moment (should occasion arise) to place it on a war footing in the most rpoody sad eel . ..all. A