The Press. — London, England, 1855-08-18 00:00:00

Auo. 18, 1855. Vrotetbings znValliantrnt. THE WAR. On Tuesday Sir Da L►CY EVANS took advantage of the half-hour's interval while the Commons were waiting the summons of Black Rod to hear the Prorogation Speech in order to make a few last ob servations touching the conduct of the war. He contrasted the British forces arrayed in the prosecution of hostilities towards the close of the last war and the army at present engaged or em bodied. The existing force, he declared, was far inferior in strength, although the country generally had so largely expanded in population and wealth. Pointing out various departments which required in vigoration, and suggesting some plans for that purpose, he called upon the Government to pledge themselves to increased energy and sincerity in carry ing on the contest. Sir De Lacy Evans proceeded to indicate many sources, in the colonies and else where, whence considerable numbers of troops might be spared or obtained to reinforce the army at the seat of war : The army in India numbered 320,000 men, of whom 40,000 were Europeans. This large army was available for the purposes of the present war. He wished to see it so made available ; at the present moment, however, but a very small force was drawn from that service. He thought that at least 10,000 men ought to be afforded from that quarter. Some of the ir. 3ullir force, too, might well be employed at the Cape of Goad Hope ; for the peculiar nature of the service there it was well fitted. There were at the present time seven well-seasoned battalions at the Cape which ought to be made available for service in the East. British troops were also stationed at Ceylon and at Hong• Kong, where there presence was not absolutely necessary. Indeed, from various sources he believed that ten battalions might be made up, and sent out within a short time to the Crime. He believed, too, that arrange ments might be made with our Australian and other colo nies by which the presence of many British soldiers might be dispensed with. Of course if his views were adopted with regard to the Indian army, it would be necessary to increase the native force, but in Oat step he saw no diffi culty. He believed that so little difficulty was experienced that no bounty was given upon natives entering the service. This question of bounties was an important one. He be lieved that we were now giving from 181. to 251., and that these sums induced many to join who afterwards deserted. During the last war 101. was the highest bounty, and even then from five to six in the thousand was the number of men who deserted. [The hon. gentleman's attention was here directed to the fact that the hour appointed for proro gation was at hand.] He was warned that his hour had almost come—(a laugh )—but there were one or two points to which he would very briefly advert. He was very glad to hear that the Foreign Legion was at length almost formed, and that it was about to proceed to the seat of war. He trusted that the Government would take care that both it and the Turkish Contingent were furnished with im proved descriptions of arms. Bodies like these required greater attention in these and other matters than regular troops, in order to render them efficiently useful. Much had been said with regard to a Polish Legion. (" Hear," and laughter.) For_ his own part he could not see why there should be any delicacy in levying such a corps. The whole of Poland did not belong to Austria, and the Poles at present scattered throughout Europe might be permitted to engage in the present contest whilst Russia possessed a large portion of their territory. Lord PALMERSTON, hurriedly replying, said : There is no one more entitled than my hon. and gallant friend to express his opinion on the conduct of the war, and upon the manner in which it is in future to be carried on. His high military position, hie distinguished talent, and the great scope to which his thoughts upon these matters have extended, give great weight to whatever may fall from him. I can assure him that the suggestions which lie has made will receive the careful attention of her Majesty's t3overnment. Some of the subjects, indeed, to which he referred are already under consideration. My hon. and gallant friend commenced by stating that he hoped a declaration would be made by us of our determi• nation to prosecute the war. I and my colleagues have paready stated our intention upon that point, and I think it my hon. and gallant friend, when he hears the words which will come from her Majesty's Commissioners this day, will find them entirely in accordance with what has already been stated by us. ( Hear, hear.) It is quite true that if you compare the amount of the army now in the field with the number of troops employed in the latter part of the late war the balance will be greatly against the pre. sent time ; but if hon. members will carry their minds a little further back—to the first year of the Peninsular war— they will find that the efforts now made equal those which the Government of that day were able to make. It must always be a matter of great difficulty when we start with a peace establishment to raise in a short time that augmen tation of force which the exigencies of a country at war may require. I believe that in comparison with the present time there has been no period in the history of this country in which, within the same space of time, such a large aug mentation of force has been made, and in which an army so large has been sent out to so distant a country. It is true that the population is greater, but it is also true that the inducements of industry, the wages of labour, are perhaps now more tempting than they have been at any previous time, and that the army therefore has now to combat obstacles which did not formerly exist. Still, how ever, I must do the people of this country the justice to scy hat there never was a time in which the patriotism and THE PRESS. public spirit of the nation were displayed in a more hearty manner than they have been by the great number who have entered the ranks of the army since the war began. (Hear.) L The noble lord was then proceeding to refer to the Indian army, when Mr. V. Smith called his attention to the fact of a messenger having arrived from the Lords.] His lord ship proceeded :—I will only now say, in conclusion, that I thank my hon. and gallant friend for the suggestions which he has made, and I can assure him again that they will receive the most careful consideration of the Go vernment. THE PROROGATION. The long session of 1854-55 was brought to a close on Tuesday, when the following Royal Speech was read by the Lord Chancellor, as her Majesty's Com missioner, in the House of Lords : My Lards and Gentlemen, We are commanded by her Majesty to release you from further attendance in Parliament, and at the same time to express the warm acknowledgments of her Majesty for the zeal and assiduity with which you have applied your selves to the discharge of your public duties during a lung and laborious session. Her Majesty has seen with great satisfaction that, while you have occupied yourselves in providing means for the vigorous prosecution of the war, you have given your at tention to many measures of great public utility. Her Majesty is convinced that yon will share her satisfaction at finding that the progress of events has tended to cement more firmly that union which has so happily been estab• lished between our Government and that of our ally, the Emperor of the French, and her Majesty trusts that the alliance founded on a sense of the general interests of Europe, consolidated by good faith, will long survive the events which have given rise to it, and will contribute to the permanent wellbeing and prosperity of the two great nations whom it has linked together in the bonds of ho- nourable friendship. The accession of the King of Sar dinia to the treaty between her Majesty, the Emperor of the French, and the Sultan, has given additional impor tance and strength to such alliance, and the efficient force which his Sardinian Majesty has sent to the seat of war to co-operate with the allied armies will not fail to maintain the high reputation by which the army of Sardinia has ever been distinguished. Her Majesty has commanded us to thank you for having enabled her to avail herself, as far as has been required, of those patriotic offers of extended service which she has re ceived from the militia of the United Kingdom, and for the means of reinforcing her brave army in the Crimea, by an enlistment of volunteers from abroad. Her Majesty acknowledges with satisfaction the measure which you have adopted for giving effect to the Convention by which, in conjunction with her ally, the Emperor of the French, she has made arrangements for assisting the Sul tan to provide the means which are necessary to enable him to maintain the efficiency of the Turkish army, which has so gallantly withstood the assaults of its enemies. Her Majesty, in giving her assent to the bill which you presented to her for the local management of the metro polis, trusts that the arrangements provided by that mea sure will lead to many improvements conducive to the con venience and the health of this great city. The abolition of the duty on newspapers will tend to diffuse useful infor mation among the poorer classes of her Majesty's subjects. The principle of limited liability which you have judi ciously applied to joint-stock associations will afford addi tional facilities for the employment of capital, and the improvements which you have made in the laws which re gulate friendly societies will encourage habits of industry and thrift among the labouring classes of the community. Her Majesty trusts that the measures to which she has given her assent for improving the constitutions of New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania, and for bestowing on these important and flourishing colonies an extended power of self-government, will assist the development of their great national resources, and promote the content ment and happiness of their inhabitants. Her Majesty commands us to say that she has been deeply gratified by the zeal and success of her Majesty's arms, and by the sympathy for her soldiers and sailors manifested throughout the Indian and colonial empire ; and her Majesty acknowledges with great satisfaction the generous contributions which her subjects in India and the Legislatures and inhabitants of the colonies have sent to the relief of the sufferers by the casualties of the war. Gentlemen of the House of Commons, Her Majesty commands us to convey to you her cordial thanks for the readiness and zeal with which you have provided the necessary supplies for carrying on the war in which her Majesty is engaged . Her Majesty laments the burdens and sacrifices which it has become necessary to impose upon her faithful people, but she acknowledges the wisdom with which you 777' A have alleviated the weight of those burdens by the mixed arrangement which you have made for providing those supplies. My Lords and Gentlemen, Her Majesty has commanded us to say that she has seen with sincere regret that the endeavours which, in conjunction with her ally, the Emperor of the French, alio made at the recent Conferences at Vienna, to bring the war to a conclusion on conditions consistent with the honour of the Allies and the future security of Europe, have proved ineffectual, but those endeavours having failed no other course is left to her Majesty but to prose cute the war with all possible vigour. Her Majesty rely ing upon the support of Parliament—upon the manly spirit and patriotism of her poople—upon the never failing courage of her army and navy, whose patience under buffering, and whose power of endurance, her Majesty has witnessed with admiration—upon the stead fast fidelity of her Allies, and, above all, upon the justice of her cause, humbly puts her trust in the Almighty Die. poser of Events for such an issue of the great contest in which she is engaged as may secure to Europe the blessings of a firm and lasting peace. On your return to your several counties you will have duties to perform little less important than those which belong to your attendance in Parliament. Her Majesty trusts that your powerful influence will be exerted for the welfare and happiness of the people, the promotion of which is the object of her Majesty's constant care and the anxious desire of her heart. NEW BILLS. The Royal assent was given, by commission, on Tuesday to a numerous batch of bills. Thu list included the following public measures, which are now acts of Parliament : The Turkish Loan, Exchequer Bills (7,000,0001.), Metropolis Local Management, Sale of Beer, Limited Liability, Ordnance Board, Customs Law Consolidation, Customs Tariff Acts Amendment and Consolidation, Crimi nal Justice, Charitable Trusts, Despatch of Business of the Court of Chancery, Crown Suits, Court of J udicature( Prince of Wales Island), Schools' Grants Securities Application, Dwellings for Labouring Classes, Office of Speaker, Mei% chant Shipping, Fisheries, Chinese Passenger-ships Amend meut,Passengeis Act Amendment, Turnpike Acts Continu ance ( Ireland), Sale of Spirits (Ireland), Navigation Works (Ireland ), Crime and Outrage ( Ireland ), Lunatic Asylums ( Ireland) Advance, Publicliouses (Ireland ), Diseases Prevention, Public Health Act, Metropolitan Buildings, Militia Ballots Suspension, Militia Pay, Militia Officers Qualification, Lunatic Asylums Registration Act Amend ment, Dissenters' Marriages, Coal Mines Inspection, Burials, Consolidated Fund ( Appropriation), Religions Worship, Trinity College ( Dublin ), Union of Contiguous Benefices, Westminster Improvement, Island of Tobago Loan, and Youthful Offenders ( No. 2), Bills. THE RETURNS OF THE METROPOLITAN REGIS are still of a satisfactory character, and show that i the public health is not so good in London as in districts that are subject to more favorable conditions, it is in a better state than is usual at this season of the year. In the week that ended last Saturday the total number of deaths registered was 993, of which 482 were those of males, and 511 those of females. In the corresponding weeks of 1849 and 1854, when so many lives were attacked by cholera, the deaths rose to nearly double that number, to 1,909 in the former year, and to 1,832 in the latter; and in the other corresponding weeks of the series of years 1845-54 the number in four instances consider ably exceeded 1,000. The deaths of last week oc curred in an increased population, and the present rate of mortality is, theretore, comparatively low. THE prospectus has been issued of a new Canadian railway, the Lake Huron and Baal() Railway, with a capital of 500,t)00/. currency, or 410,0001. sterling. It is intended, it appears, to form a Canadian com pany, under special act of the Colonial Legislature, to take a lease in perpetuity of the incomplete works of the Buffalo, Brantford, and Goderich Railway, a line one hundred and fifty seven miles long, extending from the foot of Lake Erie to Lake Huron. Of this line eighty-two miles are now open, thirty-two may be made ready for traffic in a few weeks, and the remaining portion, consisting of forty-two miles, is about one-third made, and will require from twelve to eighteen months to finish. The total sum ex pended is stated at 714,0001. sterling, and a further amount of 320,0001. sterling is estimated to be re quired for its completion and equipment. The rental to be paid 'by the new to the old company is fixed at 30,0001. per annum for seven years, such rental to afterwards increase by 2,5001. per annum to a maximum of 40,0001. per annum, which last-named sum is equal to a dividend of rather less than 0 per cent. per annum on the capital of 714,0001. already expended. Until the line is opened to Goderich it is intended to allow out of capital, if needful, 6 per cent. interest upon the deposit and calls, but an anticipa tion is expressed that this interest, will be defrayed out of the earnings of the line between Buffalo and Stratford. The shares are of 951. currency, or 201. 10s. sterling, each, with a deposit of N. 10a. sterling per share.