The Press. — London, England, 1855-02-17 00:00:00

V • 150 And we rejoice to be able to assure our readers that the heart of the Conservative party is thoroughly sound upon the pressing question of " the q.mmittee 91 Inquiry.' Ilk a It will not in any lend kiitelf to can 7 ceiling or "co mpro ' , . " thl ;floral* . res olution by which q.ted foc COO mittee. It rightly tIO tit . • course could be so injuriß f a to th Cilawn, the Constitution, al the oilniWy M 1,9 ft ttemili to smother the i quiry, and it will press toi have it followed up with vigour. It feels with the people of England, that the tax-paying public has a right to the discovery of those evils which lurk in the system of the War- office. • Concealment as to the official causes of the tremendous blunders which have occurred would, on public grounds, be the worst policy. Secrecy would only annulate prurient imagi nation, sharpen censorious tongues, and sug gest still more enormous and odious scandals than those known to have occurred, but whose " inexplicable" causes must be clearly dis covered. The most rapid mode of getting up a pernicious class-cry against rank, property, and the institutions of the country would be to at tempt to screen the official blunderers. Publi city will, on the other hand, be a safety valve to the peat-up indignation of the people. At the present moment all conductors of the war, the capable and incapable, the active and the in dolent, alike are stigmatised. Inquiry will re move the brand from the guiltless, and affix the odium to those only who deserve to be obnoxious. So much for the public reasons which should animate a member of Parliament, or any spirited Englishman, in urging forward the investigation. But there are, also, some practical considerations which ought to con vince any impartial mind that it must be 'utterly impossible to avoid the inquiry, let it .be ever so invidious. In the first place, let us recollect the rela ' - ••veen the War-office and the public 'tted that dreadful mis some most important we could get the great of the mediocre Lord possible that even a Pitt all at once upon the several elected their duties. mis ,d, while showing servile tell routine, have rebelled \nets of humanity? A 'ether Lord PANMURE, or 'the best nomination that been made), would not ,isite for investigating the wrongdoers during the must naturally attend to 'f his department put, using the very instru le chiefs of departments deceived. He may be , to those that have not trustworthy officials, and einent which has prevailed , ot be warranted in accept tharacter from the recent )lice. An inquiry, there- Astituted in the Commis id Medical Departments. that such an investiga before a parliamentary left to the prejudiced .tapist nominee of the .Ady )urthened War Minister. The efficacy and immediate utility of such an inouity we may illustrate by a single example. Certain persons are taking ad vantage of the temporary disrepute of our public service to raise a class cry against aristocracy." Let us see how inquiry would at once demolish that absurd bugbear. No one department connected with the whole Crimean campaign has been more severely censured than the Quartermaster -General's department. Nor have we any doubt but that some indignant Democrats whose minds have been poisoned by calumny and cant are ready to cry, "No wonder, when the whole staff " appointments are given to the aristocracy." Well, let us see the value of a little inquiry as io bow far " aristocracy " has im anything to the tionship between the Wa Service. It is admitte 'takes have occurred in 'departments. Now, if Lord CHATHAM in place "PANMIIRE, how is it pow could put his hand alI al officials who have negle taken their orders, and, obedience to a wretched against the first instin War Minister now, whet Lord ELLENSOROUGH could possibly have bo have the time requisite cases of the various vi last six months. He m . the immediate wants of in doing so, he may be ments by whom the latl 'lave been possibly d giving onerous offices I shown themselves till after• the mismanageme a Minister would not I ing certificates of chat heads of the War-offil fore, ought to be insi sariat, Transport, and Obviously it is better tion should take place committee than be 1 itiews of some red•t already overburthened THE PRESS. Quartermaster General's department in the Crimea. The Army List fir the current month gives us the names the Kicers responsible fur that .departmen . "moo are as follows 1 . . r (hear usrelf .—Major-Gen. Aires. Aide- • um .--Pqii . Mint H. C. Jervoisii, Assis ‘ ot Q iterom, r-General.—Lieut.-Col. Hon. A. ordoW. De ve f Major Weptibt- 1 Brether. I; Von. A. Hardingi; Brevet Majors J. liao ett; W. Santrey, C. J. Woodford, K. Macken 0. Here are nine names in this most important department, and only two—those of the sons of the Earl of ABERDEEN and viscount HAR DINGE—beIong to " aristocracy." The head of the department (General AIREY) does not belong to any noble or patrician stock; and it might be invidious to inquire how closely con nected with the middle classes are some of the other names in that list. Whether that cue. partroeut were mismanaged or not, it is plain that " aristocracy " cannot be held responsible as the cause of its blunders. lu that instance we see the value of inquiry. It at once exposes the fallacy of a factitious " cry." Well, we want investigation for the sole purpose of coming at the facts by evidence, as in the case of the West Indian Committee, worked so incomparably by the lamented L ord GEORGE BENTINCS. Does any one suppose that if " Lord GEORGE " were now alive he, with the help of a committee, would allow himself to be baffled in ascertaining who were the official culprits responsible for the calami ties of our army? Now, the War-office stands where it did six months ago ; its correspon dence is on the ale, its clerks at their desks ; its minutes duly registered, and the late managers of that office have not left the coun try. They are on the spot still, and must know what they did, and what they did not. That is the very thing at which we can arrive by a committee, and only by a committee. THE POSITION OF LORD DERBY. NEVER, during his brilliant career, did Lord DERBY occupy so remarkable a position as at the present time. The acknowledged chief of the most numerous, and the most principled, party in the State, the Conservative leader has recently signalised himself by a rare act of self-denying patriotism. Rather than risk the public weal, by exposing her Majesty's coun sels to another change of Ministers, Lord DERBY, with manly firmness, put aside the temptation of forming any Cabinet of whose stability he could not be thoroughly convinced. He lost office, but he has gained in fame. He relinquished his hold upon authority only to rise superior to his rivals, and to gather fresh moral force for that great object which he is destined to achieve—the consolidation of the Conservative party. That Lord DERBY has risen decidedly in re puation we have not the least doubt. A firm Government was, in Lord DERBY'S opinion, the first requisite of the country. The pride and pomp of lofty station—the pleasure of being the Minister at the head of the powerful Con servative connection the gratification of directly serving his SOVEREIGN, and obliging the faithful political friends who are proud to marshal under his command—all these per sonal objects he resolved to forego, rather than cast any air of doubt or insecurity over the public counsels of England. And we know that by doing so, in the estimation not only of impartial observers, 'but of avowed opponents, Lord DERBY has won the guerdon of a patriot. Amidst the terrible wreck of public reputations that has occurred recently, it is gratifying to feel that our Conservative chief comes unscathed from the ordeal. But in acting like a patriot and true states• man, we are convinced that before long it will be seen that Lord DERBY has sagaciously con sulted the true and enduring interest of the powerful connection which owns him as its chief. We are aware that some persons have thought that Lord DERBY should have taken office the tendered him. Honourably anxious for success of their party, they SATURDAY, have been too precipitate in their calculations. It is with political as with military campaigns. There are victories only the forerunners of inevitabl4 .reti.o4;*ltt are transient trium2hs e c opr cursors of disaster. A stuism u, like " gre general, must be eireuX6po in his r ve f the difficulties betoro liiio;an4 he st n anticipate a . 4 ob stacle gal 1 16 a kik g l s em while in his Rowel.. es in iiii. chair, and philoso pherilizs elusion, M.h ord to be retrospec tively Wft, but statesmen have to act, and it is impossible to proceed with energy and surety unless the leaders of a party look be fore and around them. Nor must we forget that as transient gains in war often herald lasting losses, so apparent retreats are often followed by marches to victory. More than once it has been shown that the Oppoaitiou benches are a Torres Vedras, where a wise leader husbanding the strength of his forces can calmly anticipate the certainty of his anta gonists being compelled to strike their camp. THE ARMY AND THE MILITIA. THE army estimates just laid before the House of Commons show that Government contem plates a considerable addition to our military strength. The army is to be augmented by 50,000 men, at an increased charge of upwards of six millions and a half of money. We can only express our hope that, in proposing these estimates, the Govern ment are at last awake to the crisis which is impending over our army, and that they have resolved to organise us large a force as the recruiting powers of the country will allow. But it would be unwise to shut our eyes to the extreme difficulty there will be in carrying out this or any adequate scheme. The effort has been too long postponed. It requires great preparation, and many pre liminary steps which have been neglected. It is impossible to improvise an army. Where can we get the men? The ordinary rate of recruiting will not supply them. It is only sufficient to fill up the gaps caused by our losses before Sebastopol. The Militia cannot furnish them. One hundred and eleven regiments are now embodied, and only muster 43,000 bayonets. If every man of them volunteered, and they were converted by a stroke of the pen into troops of tlie line, they would scarcely suffice for the increase proposed. But the men must be obtained. It is no use folding our hands and looking on, wile our army wages an unequal contest with the countless legions of the Czar. This or some similar plan must be brought forward, and must not be allowed to remain a nullity, a mere plan on paper. It will not do to announce at the beginning of the session of 1856 that the augmentation has been only half carried out for want of men. It is not for us to show how the end may be accomplished. Government, with their know ledge of the recruiting service and the condi tion of the country, are best able to devise inducements which shall have the required effect upon our population. But there are one or two things which the common sense of every man will suggest, and which we may take the liberty of stating. In the first place the bounty, as at present given, is absurd. In regiments of the line five shillings only is paid down, the rest is given in pay and necessaries. Men are on their guard against the delusive offer. They understand how little of the money will ever be intrusted to their own spending. A large part of the bounty ought to he paid down on enlistment. With men in that class of life a few pounds in cash is irresistible. But while we endeavour to attract new recruits we must husband and make the mos t of those we already possess. The problem i s to produce the largest possible number of soldiers available against the Czar. It is no use taking 10,000 of our best militiamen and shutting them up in Mediterranean fortresse s, with a proviso that under no possible cir cumstances shall they be sent on active service. They will be worse than useless ; they will be in the way. Troops destined for the war ought to be sent as near it as possible. Reserves ought to be accumulated