The Press. — London, England, 1856-06-07 00:00:00

I Jun 7, 1856. porteVings x arliantent. APPELLATE JURISDICTION OF THE TIOUSE OF LORDS. on Tuesday, on tho order for going into cora- mittee, Lord CAMPBELL rose to deny a statement that he had expressed his ` 0 admiration "of the bill. There was nothing in it to admire. The bill went to reme dy certain grievances, and he approved of it, without regarding it with admiration. The Earl of ABERDEEN said he wished to remark, before going into committee, that the bill contained no reference to Scotch appeals. His opinion was that all Scotch appeals should be removed from the jurisdiction of the house, and referred to a court of final appeal for Scotland, composed of persons of great weight and authority. He admitted, indeed, that the sentiments which be had expressed were not general in Scotland, but he believed that they wo uld gain ground, and that the day was not far distant when Scotch appeals would be banished from the house. The Earl of DERBY said that while Lord Abcrdeen maintained his peculiar opinions he was forced to admit that the sensible people of Scotland were satisfied with the present system of appeals. With regard to himself, lie could only say that, though on the committee he had stated the case of Scotch ap peals as constituting one of several objections raised against the existing system, he had carefully ab stained from committing himself to any of those objections ; nor did he think that any such case had been made out in Scotch appeals as to call for a change in the existing jurisdiction. He was at a loss to understand what Lord Aberdeen meant, for first he advocated the entire removal of Scotch appeals, and then he contended for the right of a Scotch judge to sit in the supreme tribunal of that house. Now, though the bill did not necessarily place a Scotch judge on the appellate bench, it did not exclude them, and, in fact, the Scotch judges in this respect stood exactly in the same position as the other judges of the United Kingdom. L )rd CAMPBELL explained to the house the posi tion which Lird Wensleydale would fill in conse quence of the refusal of the Government to create him an hereditary peer. The noble lord would be perfectly free to represent the city of London, or any borough, in the other house. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE gave his support to the bill, but remarked that the resolution of the house which excluded Lord Wensleydale was only an expression of opinion, and could not have the force of an act of Parliament. Lord FITZWILLIAM expressed his opinion that the house had got into a difficulty from which it could not be extricated by the present bill. Lord ORANVILLK admitted the difficulty, but hoped the case of the house was not so hopeless as Lord Fitzwilliam seemed to suppose. The Govern ment had advised the Crown to exercise what it considered was a part of the royal prerogative. A large majority, however, among whom were many noble lords of no particular party, thought differently. The whole matter of the appellate jurisdiction was then considered, he was bound to say, in no party spirit, and the result had been the present measure, which tended to remedy an acknowledged evil—the weakness of the appellate jurisdiction of the house. The Government had thought it desirable to come to a satisfactory arrangement of the question in dispute, but it did this without admitting that it was wrung in the course it had originally proposed, and still less that any resolution of the house could bind the Crown. -Lord DERBY acknowledged the spirit of fairness in which the Government had acted throughout this discussion. Their lordships then want into committee, and the clauses of the bill were agreed to. On Thursday, on the report of amendments on this bill being brought up, Lord MINTO moved a modification of the Bth clause and the addition of a proviso that nothing in the act should be construed as limiting tile rights of the prerogative. The LORD CHANCELLOR expressed himself of opinion that the bill ought to be allowed to pass as it then stood, without any amendment. Lord DENMAN believed the bill would satisfy no one. He thought it right to be distinctly under stood, with regard to Lord Wensleydale and others, that a peerage was granted for past services, and not as a Condition for performing future work. He was so opposed to the measure, and so convinced of its inexpediency, that he would move that it be read a see md time that day six months. The LORD CHANCELLOR informed the noble lord he could not then move such an amendment. _ Lord DENMAN gave notice that he would do so on the question that the bill be read a third time, and divide the house upon it. The Earl of MINTo withdrew his suaendment, and The report was received. THE PRESS. OUR RELATIONS WITH AMERICA. Mr. DISRAELI, on Thursday evening, rose and said : Seeing the noble lor3 at the head of the Government in his place, I take the opportunity of inquiring whether it be true that our Minister at Washington has quitted that capital at the request of the President of United States ; and, if that report be true, whether it is the intention of the Government to make any statement to the house to day as to the relations at present existing between this country and the United States? Lord PALMERSTON replied : Her Majesty's Government have received information indirectly of the fact to which the question of the right hon. gentleman has reference, that Mr. Crampton had received his passports and bad quitted Washington for Toronto. There has been notking received from him as yet, and I have no further statement to make at present. Lord GRANVILLE, in the House of Lords, in reply to a quf stion from Lord Hardwicke on the same sub ject, said her Majesty's Government had received no official intimation on the subject. THE STATE OF GREECE. Mr. JAMES MACGREGOR, on Monday, called the attention of the house to the present lamentable state of Greece, and particularly with respect to the gross financial mismanagement of the Greek Govern ment, which entailed upon England a charge of 47,0001. a year for interest on the Greek loan. Since the commencement of the late war military posses sion had been taken of the Pirteus ; and he wanted to know what was to result from this occupation. Was England to be relieved of the payment of this 47,0001. a year ? was the present Greek Government to be supported? or, in line, what was the course her Majesty's Government, in connection with its allies, intended to pursue ? Lord PALMERSTON rose and said : With regard to the general condition of Greece, I have nothing to add to those opinions which the hon. gentle man has quoted as having been expressed by me on former occasions. I am sorry to say the course pursued by the Government of Greece since only confirms the justice of anything I may have said in condemnation of it. ( Hear, hear.) With regard to the occupation of Greece by de- tachments of French and British troops, that occupation took place in consequence of measures of aggression either motivated or promoted by the Government of Greece against the Turkish territory. The Governments of Eng- land and France justly thought that when they were engaged in a war with Russia for the defence of the Turkish dominions it was not fitting that a small State like Greece, which was essentially bound by obligations to neutrality, should attack on the one side the State which the two Governments were defending against the assaults of a larger power on the other. For that purpose the Pincus was occupied, and during the occupation the aggression which led to the occupation ceased. The noble lord regretted that he could not say the occupation had induced any improvement in the system of government or the internal tranquillity of the country. The fact was, the Government and Court were in conflict with the representative system. Since 1843 there had been a perpetual endeavour to get rid of the constitutional Government by corrupt and indirect means ; and the money which ought to have been appropriated to the payment of the debt of Greece was appropriated in corrupting the electors, and afterwards those who were elected : With regard to enforcing the payment of the debt, as the guarantee was common to the three powers—England, France, and Russia—it has always been held that no one power eau rightfully enforce this claim without the concur• rence of the other two; because it is clear that if the sue• plus revenue will only pay one-third of the debt, one of the three powers, by taking the whole, would naturally deprive the other two of that which would give them a fair share of the surplus. That view of the case has always been taken by the Government of this country. With regard to the future policy which England, in conjunction with France and Russia, may think proper to pursue, I am sure the hon. gentleman will perceive that would be an anticipation of the future which it would not be proper for me to enter upon. (Hear.) AFFAIRS OF ITALY. _ _ The Marquis of CLANRICARDE, on Thursday, asked if the Earl of Clarendon could communicate to the house the notes of .the Sardinian Envoy of the 22nd of March and the 10th of April, presented to the Congress of Paris, with the answers returned to them. The Earl of CLARENDON apologised for not having communiested these documents sooner, but thought it was of little importance, as they had already ap peared in the newspapers. With respect to the answers, the French and English Governments agreed that, the questions having been fully dis cussed at the Congress, it was not necessary to send any answer to them. But it had since ap peared that the Sardinian Government wished to have some written record of the arguments, and he had no hesitation in repeating, in the name of her Majesty's Government, what he had said at Paris. That answer he now laid on the table. Before Parliament separated the affairs of Italy would, no doubt, be discussed; but all he could state at present was that be believed both France and Austria were sincere in their desire to withdraw 533 their troops from the portions of Italy occupied by them, and that they were now preparing to do so. THE DANUBIAN PRINCIPALITIES. Mr. ROEBUCK, on Monday, said he believed it had been stated by the plenipotentiaries at Paris that commissioners were appointed to enter into certain questions relative to the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. He wished to ask the Government whether any instructions had been framed by the plenipotentiaries, and given to the commissioners, and, if so, whether the Government would have any objection to lay those instructions on the table ? Lord PALMERSTON said that no instructions were framed. It WS.4 determined the English, French, Turkish, and Austrian Governments should appoint commissioners, who were to place themselves in communication with certain assem blies called the Divan, which were to be con voked by the Porte, with a view of coming to some understanding as to what form of government should be adopted for the provinces : I may state, however, that those commissioners will not proceed to transact any business in the provinces till the assemblies are convoked, and it is not the opinion of either her Majesty's Government or the Government of France that any preliminary steps should be taken until the principalities have been evacuated by foreign troops. The Austrian troops are still there. The Rnssian troops still occupy that portion of Bessarabia which is to become part of Moldavia, and the evacuation cannot be effected until the line of the frontier is laid down by the commissioners. Mr. ROEBUCK wished to put another question. Would there be any difficulty in publishing the in structions which were to be framed, when they were framed? Lord PALMERSTON : It is not usual to publish such instructions, and I am sure my hon. and learned friend will see it would be inexpedient to do so, as circumstances may arise which may render a part of the instructions previously given inapplicable to the circumstances which may have just arisen. Tug ARMY. Upon the house going into committee on Thurs day, Mr. SIDNEY HERBERT rose to call the attention of the house to the education and instruction of the officers of the army. Alluding to the general popu larity of the military force at this moment, be pre sumed that the Government would no longer be forced to disperse the different corps on their return all over the country, but would be permitted to keep them together in brigades and divisions, and to ex• ercise them on that system. Starting with the as sumption that our army must be necessarily small, Mr. Sidney Herbert maintained that we should make up for our numerical inferiority by the highest possible training and efficiency. That this was done was notoriously not the case. He did not intend to deal with the question of instruction for the meo, but for the officers ; neither did he wish to contend for high literary acquirements, but rather for strictly professional and practical knowledge, and to show how important such knowledge was to them, he quoted several opinions to that. effect of Napoleon, the Duke of Wellington, Sir John Burgoyne, Colonel Adams, Colonel Prosser, and other mititary authori ties. The non-necessity for the instruction of the officers had, he thought, been dissipated by the late war. Referring then to the course of instruction adopted at our military schools, he pointed out the de fects of the system followed at Sandhurst, and Carshalton, which was one simply of " cramming," and not effective cramming either, for if a boy were plucked, or did not .choose to pass the Sandhurst examination, he could obtain a commission by going through the minor examination provided for those who had not been at Sandhurst. The boy having got into the army, a defective system of examination followed upon promotion, and if appointed to the staff, the duties of which pre-eminently required thorough practical and professional knowledge, there was no examination at all on promotion. Now, the whole system was indefensible. The officers of should, as in the navy, be inoculated with , fessional spirit, and to obtain this he proposed To do away with all military education before . To admit students in larger numbers to Sandhurst. admit them by one uniform standard ; but also , those who have not attended any military college to pass the same examination. To establish f quarters of every division a staff officer for the of sub•officers, and to subject the latter to an uniform throughout England and the colonies. the senior department from Sandhurst to Fe to render the education there more practical in its character. Lastly, that every officer who the staff shall pass through the staff school, ■ himself for three years to the different branches service. With respect to the system of purchase, intend to enter upon the question, but he a system above all others which rendered tion requisite. By creating some additional w, the whole of the army ith more pro- opo.:ed : before sixteen. ,andhurst. To also to admit :ollege if able It at the head- he instruction In examination les. To remove Farnham, and al and military who serves on owl, and attach ranches of the e, he did not he thought it red examina- Al Woad imam-