The Sun. — London, England, 1860-04-17 00:00:00

0 ,......ma1. [Coat inued from our first page.] totally ',nsufficient to meet the ordinary demands of the ser vice, to say nothing of those extraordinary demands which !might arise from, losses by sea, or in time of war from dam pge if not loss lay the enemy—(hear)—and which did arise from the more rapid decay of the timbers of steam-vessels occasioned by the heat which was within them, and by the vibration occasioned by their machinery. The Storekeeper- General had furnished them with a return of the supply and consumption of timber in the navy from the year 1830 to the present time ; and they also possessed information as to the number of ships and men in the navy during the same period. Frown these facts, which furnished the only elements for coming to a sound conclusion upon this subject, it was demonstrable that a store of only 60,000 loads was not suffi cient to keep up a supply of timber properly seasoned and Et for conversion. (Hear.) In the period from 1830 to 3314—which included three of the periods of five years into which the Storekeeper-General had divided the consump 'ion—the greatest number of ships in the navy was 620, the average number 589, the greatest number of steam vessels 112, the average number of men 33 , 000 ( omitting the e odd e figures). The permanent establishment of timber 'was 53,000 loads, and the average yearly consu.raP tion 16,200 ; so that the establishment contained rather , more than a supply for three years. Betw een 1845 and 1851 the greatest _number of vessels at any time in the navy was 690 ; the greatest number of steamers 205 ; the average Clamber of vessels of all kinds 655. The number of sea men had increased to 43,000. The permanent establish ment of timber remained the same as during the previous 15 years, but the average annual consumption had risen to 25,000 loads. He was not seeking to cast blame upon any particular Board of Admiralty, but only endeavouring to show that since the necessity for creating a steam navy had arisen, the stock of timber had not been kept up in propor tion to its consumption. In 1845, the consumption of timber being 25,000 loads per annum and the establishment only 53,000 loads, it was clear that the timber, instead of being in store between three and four years, could only be there, upon the average, for a little more than two years. During the 14 years from 1845 to 1858, both inclusive, the greatest number of ships in the navy at any time was 927, the ave rage number 720, the number of steamships 478—a vast in crease in the number of that class of vessels which caused the greatest consumption of timber—and the number of seamen 48,000. The establishment of timber up to the be ginning of 1858 was, as he had said, 53,000 loads ; it was now 60,000. But what was the annual consumption ? 28,000 loads. Therefore, the stock was still only equal to a little more than two years' consumption. Nor did that repre sent the whole of the case—not by a good deal. The late First Lord of the Admiralty, when explaining the navy estimates last year, stated that in the last ten years, though three line-of-battle ships and a fraction had been ordered by successive Boards, two and a fraction only had been produced. Something ought to be allowed for that deficiency ; and, moreover, if ships were built of green tim ber they could not be expected to last very long. He might mention another fact. The whole quantity of timber re ceived from 1830 to 1858 was 631,000 loads ; the quantity used in the same period was 636,000 loads ; and in 1859 the storekeeper had 65,000 loads in hand. It was clear, there fore, that in 1830 there must have been a stock of timber larger than the establishment. But the case did not end here. Among the papers recently presented there was an account by the present Surveyor of the Navy of the amount of timber required to build three line-of-battle ships, one frigate, and two corvettes, sailing and steam vessels respec tively of the same rates. The sailing vessels required 15,700 loads, and the steamvessels 22,000 loads, being a difference of 6,300 loads. Seeing, therefore, how our steam navy had increased, and what would be the probable expenditure for the next few years, there could be no doubt that if the sup ply of timber had been short hitherto, it would be still shorter in future. No amount of money, said the Store keeper-General, could procure large supplies, consisting ex clusively of timber of the largest dimensions, and undoubt edly the present wants of the service were not easily met. England, he added, could not supply them, and cargoes of shipbuilding timber imported from foreign countries could not consist only of the largest sizes, even if such timber of hard and durable quality and unobjectionable weight was forthcoming in abundance at the ports of shipment. That was a most important and suggestive statement. We might get metal to any amount, shipwrights to any num ber, but seasoned timber could not be got at all, and the sup ply of raw timber was not over-abundant. A gallant Ad miral bad said that England might lose the command of the Channel. Suppose our supply of timber from abroad was interrupted even for a few months. That was a con tingency which ought to be guarded against, and we could guard against it only by having in stock a supply of timber sufficient to meet, not only the ordinary demands of the ser vice, but any extraordinary demand which might suddenly come upon us. He did not think that 60,000 loads-would make a proper establishment of timber, especially when dis tributed among six dockyards, for if the aggregate supply was insufficient it would be still more so when divided into half-a-dozen parts. There was another point to which he wished to direct attention. It appeared from the Parlia mentary Paper No. 174 of the present year that the average expense of repairing 203 steamvessels in commission, ex cluding labour, was £325 each, while the cost of maintain ing 211 vessels in ordinary was £449. That showed the necessity of keeping up an ample supply of timber in stock, whether our ships were in commission or in ordinary. By putting the figures together the average might be found, and it showed that even if this country should be fortunate enough to be able to dispense with having so large a number of ships in commission, it must not be concluded that the vessels not in use would not be the occasion of great expense. (Hear.) He had the figures with respect to sailing ships, but as they were not accurately given he was unable to draw any conclusion from them ; but the figures in respect to the steam vessels were quite enough to show what the fact was, and that even if the number of men were reduced to the average of the last few years, it must not be supposed that the expense of maintaining the vessels would be got rid of. (Hear.) The whole expense of putting the establishment of timber in a proper state would be simply an expense once for all of about £300,000 or £lOO,OOO. But, whatever might be the cost, the country world be secure, with a proper store of timber, of having well -seasoned materials for the work to be done. (Hear.) Mr. W. WILLIAMS thought tho house should be dis tinctly informed by the Secretary to the Admiralty what course the Admiralty intended to pursue in reference to the very important report made by the commissioners appointed to inquire into the dockyards. Those commissioners stated that 10 per cont. of the expenditure in building new ships might be saved. No one was more anxious than he to see the navy maintained in an efficient state, but nevertheless he considered it high time that the expenditure incurred year after year for the navy should be inquired into. From 1832, the commencement of the reformed Parliament, to 1838, the average expenditure on the navy in those seven Years was £1,770,000; the expenditure on the navy in 1858-9, only two years ago, was £8,800,000, and in the pre sent year the expenditure was estimated at £12,800,000. It seemed as if they were preparing for war against some w na e t r i e cn i: and h e k new not what nation that could be unless it ; yet the F renc h naval expenditure during the last se 'r ve allc a e s 'ears had been much less than the English. The two countries were carry i ng on a nsortjet and of contest as to which of them should h ave the most efficient the hadlargestp l a e n e u d m u; ber of screw ship s of war, and y e t the F rench in fear by a navy w hi ch had cost just one-half of ours. What was still more extrao r di nary, the whole expense of the French navy in 1858-9 was £1,600 ,000, while i n our es ti finites for the present year the wa ges and victuals alone amounted to £4,900,000. The gallant admiral (Sir M. Seymour) had spoken in high terms of the character of the shipbuilding carried on in our yards ; but how was it that the cost of building varied so much at these establishments ? By returns which had been published it appeared that the cost of shipwrights' labour upon vessels of precisely the same tonnage and character was at Chatham £4 Bs. 2d. per ton ; at Devour ort, £4 10s. ; at Sheerness, £6 2s. 7d. ; and at Woolwich, £6 18s. How did this arise ? Not, he pre sumed, front higher wages paid ; but, at any rate, the fact remained, and monstrous it was, that at Woolwich ship building cost 50 per cent. more than at Chatham. There must evidently be something wrong somewhere. With regard to the timber, it quite puzzled him to account for the vast quantity which had been paid for by the country. At the termination of the French war we had 210 sail of the line, while now we had only 59 afloat and on the stocks, and yet in the interval, notwithstanding this vast diminution, £88,000,000 had bean expended upon timber and wages for the construction of ships in our dockyards. He thought there must have been gross mismanagement. No attempt, however, was made to check the system until the late commission ; and he thought, after the disclosures which they had made, it was high time that this house should interpose to prevent the mismanagement which :prevailed in our dockyards. A commission of efficient men, who thoroughly understood every branch of the suhject,would probably do more effectual service with this view than even a committee of the house. (Hear.) Sir H. LEEKE urged the necessity of having efficient 6ua a rdships i n our ports, t h ese vessels being the groundwork of fleet. At every port there should be two, and these would form a fleet ready for any emergency. IV ith regard to corporal punishment, he had li ve d muc h among seamen, and took a deep ti . •Use o f interest the erest in their welf are , b u t h e did no t think that th e lash ought to be abolished, nor was this the wish of the men themselves. Bei ng i n conversat i on with some of them y recently,theyie gave him clea r ly t o under stand that they Were favour, ab to the retention of corporal to punishment, and he wa s desired express their views up on the point. For himself, h e believe that the a b o liti on o f flogging would be fraught with danger. O board 9 ° b y - g t i l t i n e some ship recently the crew were made so uncomfortable n misbehaviour of the newly-raised me n that of them came aft and complained to the o ffi cer of the watch that they should never be comfortable until those m ' en stating Were punished. The captain was not a floggi ng man, and the thing went on, until at last the captain declared that the next offender should be 'severely punished. The man was . flogged accordingly, to the great delight of the crew g ene _ rally—if a punishment so barbarous could ever be witnessed with delight ; and the consequence was that the vessel was now one of the best-ordered ships in the service. He was not a punishing man, and his experience taught him that corporal punishment might almost be abolished. With respect to captains on the reserved list, he thought they were entitled to progress in rank, and to an increased half. pay ; but, according to the letter which had been signed by the Secretary to the Admiralty, those officers were to remain in their present position. Many of them were most distin guished officers, and some of them he would sel •ct for his flag captains if he had the opportunity. As the whole cost to the country of granting to those officers the ustice they sought would be under £2,000 a year, he ho_ Ed their just claims would meet with due consideration. Admiral NVALCOTT agreed with what bad fallen from the hon. member for Portsmouth (Sir J. Elphinstone), and in advocating the claims of the reserved captlins he was en couraged by the statement of the right hon. baronet (Sir F. Baring), who had said that in drawing up the minute affect ing those officers he did so with the clear understanding that he confined the reserved list to simply advancing them to the rank of captains, and allowing them to receive the gra duated pay of junior captains. That class of officers, how ever, accepted that promotion in the firm belief that they would receive an increase of pay agreeably to seniority, though they were aware that in b. ing so advanced they gave up all hopes of good-service pensions, and of ever being called into active service, except in times of emergency. He had heard it stated in the course of the discussion, with some regret and astonishment, that in the United States there were no less than 150,000 seamen in employment, of whom only one-fourth were American subjects. He was one of those, however, who firmly believed that in the event of this country being, unhappily, involved in a war we should find the same loyalty and devotion among our sea- faring population as had been displayed throughout the rest of the community in the formation of volunteer corps. We had 180,000 seafaring men, 23,000 of whom were mates, 60,000 were able seamen, and a considerable number were ordinary seamen. In the event of a war a great number of the merchant seamen would be prevented following their ordinary calling; they would therefore be available for the navy, and would flock to the national standard with alacrity in ease of need. Nevertheless, he would wish to see an effi- cient reserve maintained ; but still, let the Governmen offer what temptation they might, the result would always be limited, for merchant seamen liked to rove about the world, and were averse from the discipline of a man-of-war. In 1853 he impressed upon the Govern ment the necessity of having ships stationed at all our mercantile ports, under the command of officers of high character, for the training of men for the navy ; and if that suggestion had been adopted we should now have had between 20,000 and 30,000 young able seamen in a high state of efficiency and discipline, on whom we might have relied as a reserved force in an emergency. He would now suggest to the Admiralty the necessity ef urging the whole service to become familiar with the new modes of naval warfare. (Hear, hear.) Numbers of the lieutenants in the navy had unhappily lest heart, so few were their chances of promotion. It had been said that the list of officers had become crowded in consequence of the unusual longevity in that department of the service. It should, however, be borne in mind that the time was when this country was in volved in war, not with one but with several nations, when there were a thousand pennants in the service, and when a corresponding number of officers was required. But in 1815, when peace was established, three-fourths of them were placed on half-pay, and there they had remained. Mr. BENTINCK, before adverting to the subject under discussion, wished to tender his thanks to his hon. friend the member for Portsmouth (Sir J. Elphinstone) for the graceful and feeling allusion he had made to a recent me lancholy event. (Hear, hear.) He believed there was no member on either side of the house who would not readily acknowledge that the amiable qualities and the great ability of the late lamented member for Berkshire (Captain Lei cester Vernon) were such as to render his untimely end a source of the deepest regret. (Cries of Hear, hear, from both sides ef the house.) He (Mr. Bentinck) could not forbear reminding the house that the Government had inaugurated a new financial policy, the obvious result if not the avowed object of which must be so to cripple our financial resources as to render the maintenance of the national defences next to impossible ; and he asked how they could reconcile the conflicting positions of in all probability decreasing re sources with an increasing expenditure. Reference had been made during the debate, by a gallant admiral, to recent disturbances on board some of her Majesty's ships. He (Mr. Bentinck) believed the real cause of those disturbances was referable to the tendency of the existing state of public feeling to resist authority. In the navy dis • graceful occurrences of that kind were constantly occur ring, and he believed there was no member of that house who would not say that when discipline ceased to exist in the navy the navy itself might as well ceese to exist alto • tether. In the case ef the mercantile marine the tendency of their legislation had been that, in the ease of disputes between masters of vessels and the men, the former were sometimes compelled to have recourse to what must be re garded is very unjustifiable acts. (Hear.) The gallant admiral opposite had referred to the subject of bounties. There might no doubt be cases in which a system of boun ties might be beneficially resorted to, but he believed those cases were of an exceptional character. In most instances where bounties were resorted to the fault lay with the Ad miralty in not providing the means of keeping up a regular supply of seamen for the service. But here, again, he be lieved the origin of the evil was to be found in that house. There was a constant struggle between the Board of Admi ralty and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who was al ways making use of every expedient to make the two ends meet, and driving the Board of Admiralty to practices of which they were ashamed. (Hear.) The system of bounties was one of extravagance in the long run, and he believed that if they were to pay their seamen well, so as preserve them to the navy, they would not only add to the security of the country, but effect an actual saving of money. (Hear, hear.) Complaints had been made of the enormous cost of building, and the large outlay of public money at the docks. He agreed with those who thought it desirable to reduce the expenditure ; but contended that it was impossible in the present state of things to have any efficient reduction of expenditure. He attached no blame to any board past or present for this. The cause lay in the system— (hear, hear)—in the fact that they placed men in respon sible positions, who could have no possible knowledge of their business—(hear, hear)—and, above all, because they made the Board of Admiralty a political jobbing office. (Lieu, hear.) If they wanted to have efficiency and eco nomy they must have at the Admiralty a continuous sys tem, managed by persons continuously responsible and wholly independent of political movements, and they must place at the head of it a man who, by profession and repu tation, was admitted to be thoroughly competent to under take the whole management. (Hear.) They had heard something about the price of anchors ; and he had no doubt the Admiralty paid twice as much they ought to do for their anchors ; but this arose from the same cause. (Hear, hear.) His right hon. friend the member for Oxfordshire (Mr. Henley) had brought beforo the house the important question of timber, and he impugned tho figures and calm ! diens of the noble duke at the head of the Admiralty. His right lion. friend made out his case with that clearness and force which always distinguished him ; but he could not agree withhim when ho impugned the conduct of the noble duke. He believed the noble duke was as good a man for the position he held as could be got, and he knew that his noble and gallant friend (Lord C. Paget) had worked hard to remedy the abuses of the Admiralty. But it was impos sible fully to remedy those abuses under the present system which his noble and gallant friend knew to be perfectly in - defensible. (Hear, hear.) Zhey had been told time after time that if any private building yard was carried on upon the system pursued by the Admiralty, the Bank of England would not be able to keep them going:six months. (Hear, hear.) lie believed that the great body of officials at the Admiralty time after time had been doing their best to remedy ab T:vnhi u tc,leh s o ei sttxh, was a u uns t ts f e o s u o n f d t h t o h n e a m beyond likelythei r control. ton e re a (Hear, o ye ar h b yy e e a a r r . ) o m f 0 %1 le y g t t m l a o n s e t e the importance expend t t h t n a r t e t h o e f y e should h w i l e l n c h g in the d oc k yards. (" Hear, hear ," from Mr. Williams.) The hon. member for Lambeth cheered, but his views and ) He would not very different upon this those of that hon. gentleman and all ho u r is o e le t a e g r cr h e d va g s e subject. (A laugh. t t h h a e t th moste money liberal outlay for the navy, (Hear , , iti e e a ecia r Trin ..? ii T ,t !l t l h t e he ay h a o t u e s m e should bo judicioasly applied. th a e n d d is w cu a s at s t i n on g was prepared to grapple with the all committees of inquiry were usele gr el ea tt of details they were only wasting thei:ti millions of the public money. Lord C. PAGET said he would not then make an marks, but when the house went into committee hewYourled. take the opportunity of answering the various statements that had been made. The house then went into committee on the NAVY ESTIMATES. Mr. MASSEY in the chair. Tho first vote moved was a sum of £160,230 to defray th e expenses of the Admiralty-office. Lord C. PAGE 1' said, before referring to the vote which had just been brought under the notice of the committee, he was desirous of replying to statements that had been made on various subjects connected with the navy. Sir H. WILLOUGHBY rose to order. He wished to know whether the noble lord was entitled to make a general statement in committee when a particular vote was before hem ? The CHAIRMAN said it was not usual or convenient to make a general statement in committee, but the noble lord would no doubt exercise a sound discretion, and limit his explanation as much as possible to the particular vote be fore them. Mr. LOVAINE said that several questions were put to the noble lord. before going into committee, and it was unfair to hon. members to make his answer-in committee. Sir J. PAK INGTON thought that no exception could be taken to the manner in which the Chairman had explained the rule of the house. At the same time, as a matter of pre cedent, he remembere& none worse than• that set by the noble lord, who had taken a most objectionable course. A long debate had taken place, matters of serious importance had been discussed, and it was the duty of.the noble lord, as the rep resentative of the Admiralty, to give a frank and fair answer to the questions put to him ; instead of which the noble lord had completely departed from the rules of the house. To his extreme astonishment, the noble lord said he sho u ld offer no answer, but that he had a statement to make which he should make in Committee of Supply. The noble lord, deviating from the established and recog nised rules of the house, now proposed to offer an answer and explanation to that which had been stated in another debate. (Hear, hear.) Lord PALMERSTON said he could not concur in the objection which had been taken. If the strict rules of the house were enforced when an hon. member moved the ad journment of the house, in order to discuss some topic un connected with that motion, he ought to be stopped and told to confine himself to giving reasons why the house should adjourn. The vote before the house was for the Admiralty office, and it was competent for his noble friend and for the house upon that vote to discuss every thing which could be said for or against the Admiralty and the manner in which they conducted the affairs of the navy. His noble friend might, it was true, have made his statement before the Speaker left the chair, but nothing was more common than that a person charged with the conduct of a department defer his reply until the house went into committee. No one who had sat long in that house but must have observed that frequently, upon the Array Estimates and other mat ters, that course had been pursued. So far from being in convenient, it was rather an advantage, because, before the Speaker left the chair, the mouths of members who had previously taken part in the debate were closed. Lord LOVAINE said that if the noble lord was right the Chairman was wrong, because the hon. gentleman in the chair had limited the explanation of the noble lord (C. Paget) to the subject to which the vote refarred. Sir H. WILLOUGHBY remembered that elate Secretary of the Treasu - ,y (Mr. Wilson) had deferred his reply in a debate on the Civil Service Estimates until the Speaker had left the chair. The consequence was a general debate, which continued all night and ended in an adjourned debate. Did the noble lord (Palmerston) consult the interests of the Government in the doctrine he had laid down ? Was it not wiser to have a matter discussed and disposed of ? If mem bers were to go on talking in committee de omnibus rebus et quibusdam aliis, some one at 12 o'clock would move an ad journment. It was the duty of the house to adhere to the strict point before it, and he trusted that this rule would net be departed from. Lord PALMERSTON said it had been his duty for many years to move the Army Estimates. What was done on those occasions ? On proposing the first vote the practice was to go into detail and explain everything connected with the army. The present vote, being for the Admiralty, would justify his noble friend in defending the manner in which that department conducted the naval service of the country. Sir C. NAPIER wished to remind the noble lord that the Secretary to the Admiralty had, on moving the first vote, made his statement relative to the navy. (Hear.) After a few words from Admiral Duercomnu, Lord C. PAGET said that his only object was the conve nience of public business. He did not want to shirk any ex- • planations of the various matters which had been brought under the notice of the house. If he had erred, it was from ignorance rather than any bad intentions. (Hear.) His first duty now was to notice the remarks of his hon. friend the member for Portsmouth relative to the reserved captains of the Royal Navy. Lord LOVAINE again rose to order. He could see nothing in the vote before the committee which in any way related to the subject referred to by the noble lord. (Hear.) Lord C. PAGET said he would defer the explanation he had to offer in regard to the case of the reserved post-captains, although he regretted to do so, as many gentlemen were naturally anxious to hear it. (Hear.) He hoped he would be in order in replying to the observations of the right hon. member for Oxfordshire (Mr. Henley). Lord LOVAINE remarked that the subject of timber came under vote 10. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) Lord C. PAGET—Very well, then I will confine myself to the vote before the committee. (Hear.) Sir C. NAPIER drew attention to the fact that the vote for the Admiralty-office was continually on the increase. This year it was larger than it was the year before by £143,230. His great objection to the vote, however, arose from his conviction that the constitution of the Admiralty was incompatible with the proper management of the naval business of the country. As long as the Admiralty was presided over by a man destitute of practical experience of naval life, the same absence of order and economy would be observable as at present. The First Lord had to discharge duties which as a civilian he could not possibly know any. thing about. The professional man who acted as a sort of " dry nurse," being generally selected by the First Lord himself, was as likely to be inefficient as not, and even if fit for the post his advice was often disregarded, or perhaps not asked for at all. Each member of the Board had a parli titular department allotted to his charge, but very often the First Lord gave orders which his colleagues knew nothing about. When Sir J. Graham was First Lord, and assumed the responsibility of acting in that manner, Sir J. Pechell, a very conscientious officer, protested against it; but all mem bers of the Board were not equally independent. The per petual changes in the Board which took place under the pre sent system could not fail to be prejudicial to the service. (Hear, hear.) He believed that one of the chief causes of the discontent which had prevailed in the, navy for some time past was that the sailors were confined too closely to drill at Portland, and debarred from the privilege of going ashore, which they used formerly to enjoy. Drill was always irksome to a sailor. When carried too far it in variahly produced discontent ; and when the men were called off from "leave" the irritation was sure to be in creased. The patronage of the Admiralty was practically in the hands of the First Lord, and it was not easy to see how that was to be prevented. The First Lord claimed a certain share of the promotions and appointments as his own private patronage, and indeed seldom asked advice as to the disposal of any of it. The Duke of Somerset was the present First Lord, and how had he distributed the patronage ? lie had bestowed a command on Admiral Milne—a very excellent officer, certainly, who, while captain, had been in constant service, but had been for 11 years a Lord of the Admiralty. Admiral Milne was a canny Scotchman—(a laugh)—and had retained his seat at the Board under both Whigs and Tories. He was now despatched to the North American station. Then there was Admiral Bruce, a very excellent officer too, who had had three commands running. He had commanded on the coast of Africa, was removed thence to the Pacific, and was now installed at Portsmouth Dockyard. Admiral Bruce was a very good officer, as he had said, but then he was not the only good officer in the service. The next was Admiral Fanshawe, who had held four previous commands, and had not remained in any one of them long enough to complete his time. He was, no doubt, a very ex cellent officer ; but he was not the only good officer in the service. They were doing everything they possibly could to prevent the Commander-in-Chief or the Secretary at War constantly keeping the same officers in each department of the army, and the same thing ought to be done with regard to the navy. The next appointment of the present First Lord was Admiral Elliott, who was removed from the Channel squadron to Portsmouth, then to the Admiralty, and now to the Mediterranean. He had not the least ob jection to any of these officers, but it was very hard that officers who were equally as good should not have a chance of gaining experience. It might be necessary to change the First Lord with each change of Administration, but the other Lords should be put in for a certain time—say five years, and ono changed every year, so as to keep up a con stant supply of experienced men. It was not his intention to oppose the vote, but he should take an early opportunity of submitting a substantive motion upon the subject. neLedoerdd of L t o h V e A in l e N re E sa asee i that so of charge ehargef m er e e e x le p r in k a s, tion nni wa5£18,732 last last year to £19,210, when it was remembered that the packet contracts had been transferred to the Post-office. He took the opportunity of stating that Mr. Clifton, the head of the steam department, brought under his notice the whole of the documents relating to the Churchward con tract, and that he was not amenable to the censure which the right hen. member for Portsmouth had passed in the course of a recent debate, under the supposition that he had not done so. He believed Mr. Clifton to be a most active and intelligent public servant. Lord C. PAGET said that the gallant admiral seemed to find fault with the Duke of Somerset for appointing proper men. Sir C. NAPIEIL said ho found fault with the constant continuation in commands of the same officers. Lord C. PAGET said that if they had a good man he thought it best to give him another command as soon as an opportunity, occurred ; but all the appointments of the Duke of Somerset had been made after consultation, and with the unanimous approval of the professional members of the Board. The increase of charge for clerks partly arose from promotion of third-class clerks to second-class clerks, and partly frem the progressive increase of salaries. There had been no reduction consequent on the transfer of the packet contracts to the Post-office, because an immense increase of work had been entailed by the augmentation of the service. It had Veen necessary to appoint temporary clerks, and they had preferred to do so because they hoped the necessity was only temporary. - workn After w o thesualvmdo ta b ° o further better z 2 87 doowne for o r th Admiral DUNCOMBE believed that it would be more ships by efficient vfaheretashdateeabl economical to make permanent appointments, and that the and Naval C. A R p es i e E rv ß e , conversationa salariest he vote of was the C agr oa e s e tg d u t a o rd . asked O whether the 9,000 men figuring onth a is vote as Coastguard's Reserve were fit for actual ser vicen board a man-of-war, and whether it was the inten tion of the Admiralty to replace the present coastguard yssaffdd Admiraltypr a a department, l a ea and the and hwe h housei r e e h c o m was m a ae pam phletnmedroees Sir J. ELPHIN3TONE advocated the placing of th d t s o e . r t % h e latelyattentionun d under p a u b se li o p s t useful compendium of the whole subject. The duties of the Coastguard, whether officers or men, were extremely ardu ous, and the only advantages which that service offered were those which arose from enabling them to live with their families. In order to render the Coastguard thoroughly efficient .as a naval reserve, he recommended that a large addition should be made to its numbers, and that the men should be thoroughly trained and drilled, so as to fit them for the position of captains of guns, in case they were sud denly required to embark. Admiral WALCOTT inquired whethe r h e was correct in men believing had that n porieitteonfsi7o,n2otooC:ohae character uar len 1 seamen, s tg could not be relied on in an emergency ? Sir J. PAKINGTON hoped the noble lord would also sm of 0 0 o r 2, d OO be able to state how many naval coast volunteers were now enrolled, and to what extent they had come forward for drill during the past year. Lord C. PAGET said on the Ist inst. there were on beard Coastguard ships and tenders 3,206 men, which, with 3,438 serving on shore at the different stations , made a total of 6,644 seamen available for tho fleet. Be sides these, there were 1,356 landsmen, whose places would, , however, be filled by seamen as rapidly as they were pensb med off. He did not mean to deny that there were able pe tints in the pam phlet of Admiral Martin, but he shell] like to ask what additional security could be provided for ascertaining whe - ther a man was really an able seaman— the point on which Admiral Martin found so much fault with the present scheme. The man on presenting himself was first examined by the shipping master, and as an additionei security he could not be admitted without being taken before . the naval officer for the district, who put such questions w.l.th regard to reefing and steering and the "narks of the Lead as must sufficiently test his ability as a seaman. In f act, if a defect existed in the scheme, it was, as had been pointed out by the right hon. gentleman the member for Omfordshire, that the pre liminary examination was too searching. (Hear, hear.) Admiral Martin was a most excel ent and efficient member of the commission, but he maintained that the statement in which he took pains to show that the men who were being entered could not be depended on, was, as regarded the Ad miralty, very unfair and unjust. Without incurring the risk of being called to order, he could not refer to the case of the commanders of the coastguard, but he might state that they were included in the scheme of the retirement of officers which he was most anx:ions of ha ng an opportu nity of laying before the house. Sir C. NAPIER complained that his question still re mained unanswered, and that the Secretary to the Admi ralty had given a very poor account of Admiral Mai tin's pamphlet. The noble lord ropresented that there were 6,000 men ready to go on board ship, while Admiral Martin li mited the number to 3,200 ; and he further stated that there were only 1,300 landsmen in the coastguard, while Admiral Martin held that there were 4,000, who ought to be got rid of as quickly as possible. The noble secretary further in formed the house that nothing could be done by the ship ping master in reference to the enrolment of volunteers without consulting the naval officer, but in a letter which he had received from an officer well acquainted with the nature of this reserve, it was stated, " The sailors complain that they do not understand the regulations—that the ship ping master tells them one thing and the naval officer another." (H ear .) “W hen men come forward to volun teer they wish to be drilled at once, and not to have it hang ing over their heads. Many now regret that they have joined the reserve, and prevent others from doing so, while efficient sailors are often turned away by the foolish ques tions which are asked." The noble lord the Secretary to the Admiralty might be a very good sailor, but if he were to put before him the shear-block of a line-of-battle ship, and ask him what sized rope he would strop it with, he might feel equally at a loss with Jack to give an answer off hand. (Laughter.) The fear of punishment by the lash without previous trial by court-martial likewise operated injuriously on the volunteer force. (Hear.) Lord LOVAINE wished to know whether any disincli nation to enter the coastguard had been manifested from a belief that the retiring allowance was not as attractive as in former years. Mr. LINDSAY hoped some explanation would be given of the discrepancy between the statements of Admiral Mar tin and the noble lord the Secretary to the Admiralty. It was very desirable to ascertain whether those 6,000 men were all really able seamen, or whether any portion of them were mere landsmen, who had been put into the Coastguard through favour or patronage. As to the mode of entering seamen for the navy, if they were to be obtained from the merchant service the usual shipping masters were more likely to get them than naval officers. He believed, one of the greatest discouragements to enteriug the naval service was the objection seamen felt to the present form of the Articles of War, that inflicted the penalty of death for com paratively trifling offences, though, of course, the punish ment was very rarely carried into effect. The Admiralty would not obtain sailors freely till the Articles of War were modified. He wished to know what had been done with the nOO,OOO voted last year for the Coast Volunteers ; and what would be done with the same sum asked for in the present estimates ? Mr. HENLEY thought the regulations under which sea men were required to enter the navy should be simplified ; as they stood, no one could understand them. Why could not the Admiralty allow a man to enter for a month, and then rate him an A.B. if capable, or send him about his business ? At the utmost they could only lose the few shillings they might pay the man more than ho was worth, and they would have the advantage of a month's trial, in stead of first asking a series of questions that real sailors disliked and resented. Mr. W. WILLIAMS ascribed the unwillingness to enter thenavy to the continuance of the punishment of flogging, and hoped the Admiralty would find some substitute for it. Admiral WALKER asked what were the ages and quali fications foAntering into the Coast Volunteers ? Lord C. PAGET, in reply to the question of the hon: member for Sunderland (Mr. Lindsay), said that of the £lOO,OOO voted last year for the Coast Volunteers only a small part had been expended; the rest would fall in to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Of the present vote of the same amount a portion would be immediately expended in fitting up two training ships in the river for the volun teers. The number of the naval reserve entered was, he might add, about 800. Mr. LYGON complained of the large amount - which was set down in the vote for lodging accommodation. Admiral DUNCOMBE, adverting to the difficulty of procuring an adequate number of men for the naval reserve, expressed it to be his op 3 -iion that the cause was to seine extent to be found in the fact that the value of the article required was not given. Sir C. NAPIER said that, as there seemed to be no dis position on the part of the Admiralty to provide efficient ships in the place of the block ships, he felt it to be his duty to move that the_ vote for the coastguard be reduced by £4,000. Lord LOVAINE feared, whatever bounties they offered, they would not get the number of A.B.'s wanted. They were not to be had. It was in evidence before tho Mer dhant Shipping Committee that the number of A.B.'s in the merchant service had within the last 20 or 30 years diminished beyond all precedent. The advantages offered in future might, however, do much. Sir C. NAPIER withdrew his amendment, thinking it better to bring forward some sppeffic motion on the subject. Sir J. ELPHINSTONE recommended smaller vessels to be employed as school-ships than the line-of -battle-ships now used. It was not convenient to congregate together 2,000 boys in one ship. Lord C. PAGET replied that the block ships were quite unfit for school ships, there being no room below. They did not mean to place more, probably, than 500 boys to gether. A vote was then agreed to. On the vote for the scientific branch being proposed, Mr. B. JOHNSTONE inquired whether it was true that at one of our largest dockyards an immense number of ar tificers and shipwrightshad been discharged, and that they were going over to France ? The CHAIRMAN said the question was not relevant to the present vote. Mr. B. JOHNSTONE would then move that they re port progress, in order to have an answer to his question. Lord C. PAGET said he had not heard that any arti ficers were going over to France, but a number had been discharged at the end of the financial year in consequence of the reduction of the estimates. In reply to a question from Admiral WALCOTT, Lord C. PAGET said there would be no objection to al lowing officers who had retired from the service the value of their chronometers as determined by the Astronomer Royal. The Board of Admiralty had framed an order—to which he trusted they would soon obtain the sanction of the house—for granting three chronometers to line-of-battle ships, frigates, or troopships, two chronometers to sloops, and one to gunboats. It was only fair that cfficers should be relieved from the expense of providing their own chro nometers. The vote was then agreed to, and the chairman ordered to report progress. ADULTERATION OF FOOD OR DRINK BILL. This bill, as amended, was considered. CENSUS (ENGLAND). Mr. CLIVE moved for leave to bring in a bill for taking the census of England. The motion was agreed to. The bill was then brought in and read the first time. The house adjourned at a quarter past 12 o'clock. [ADVERTISEMENT.]--Holloway's Pills and Ointment.— Irresistible Remedies.—For weak or diseased lungs, drop sical symptoms, and chronic rheumatism, Holloway's pint ment and pills stand unr i va ll e d. M r . Turner, chemist, of Banham, Norfolk, writes that James Turner, of Kenning hall-Heath, was grievously afflicted for many years , by a complication of sueh disorders. This poor man was quite incapable of any exertion The best procurable medical ad vice gave - no relief, when fortunately Holloway's prepara tions were recommended. Considerable easo was obtained immediately on their use, and the power of motion returned, while every untoward symptom gradually departed. By persevering friction with the ointment over the affected parts the patient was soon enabled to resume his usual em ployment, and gratefully testifies to the efficacy of Iloilo way's purifying remedies. LADVERTISEMENTd—Fifty thousand cures without medi cine, by Du Barry's elicious Revalenta Arabic& Food, of indigestion (dyspepsia), flatulency, constipation, nervous, bilious, and liver complaints, debility, cough, asthma, con sumption, /cc. Cure N o . 71, of dyspepsia, from the Right Hon. the Lord Stuart de Decies,—" I have derived consi derable benefit from Du Barry's Revalenta Arabica Food, and consider it due to yourselves and the public to autho rise the publication of these llnes.—Stuart do Decies." Cure No. 49,832.—" Fifty years indescribable agony from dyspepsia, nervousness, asthma, cough, constipation, flatu lency, spasms, s i c k ness at the stomach, ' and vomiting, have been removed by Du Barry's excellent food.—Maria Joly, Northam Ling, near Diss, Norfolk." Cure No. 4,208. " Eight years dyspepsia, nervousness, debility, with cramps, spasms, nausea, for which my servant had consulted the advice of many, have been cured by Du Barry's health restoring food. I shall be happy to answer any inquiries. —Rev. John W. Flavell, Ridlington Rectory, Norfolk." In tins, at l s . 6d. •, 11b., 3s. ; 21b., .ss. 9d. ; 51b., 125.; 121 b., 265. The 101 b. and 121 b. tins carriage free, on receipt of post office order. Du Barry and CO., 77, Regent-street, London; Fortnum, Mason, and Co., 182, Piccadilly ; Alibis, 60, Gracechurch-street • 4, Cheapside ; 63 and 150 Oxford street; 330 and 451, Strand • 49 an d 60, Bishopsgate• street ; 85, Tottenham-court-road. Also at Dublin, Bewley and Draper ; at Edinburgh, Raimea and Cc.; at Liverpool, Nixon and Thew; at Manchester, Sharp an. Scott; at York, Raimes, Blanchard, an d Co.; at,Soutk ampton, Itanda'il and Son THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, APRIL' 17, 1860, THE SARDINIAN PARLIAMENT. TURIN, APRIL 12. By way of a prelude to the debate which we are to-day to attend at the Chamber, arising from Gari baldi's question on the cession of Nice, the follow ing particulars will be read with interest in England:— The Governor of Nice, Lubonis, author of the 1 famous proclamation which has shocked the very Ministers by whom that worthy functionary was ap pointed, is actually terrorising the people into com pliance with the French Emperor's wishes. The journal Il Nizzardo, which had ceased to appear on the first invasion of the county by the French troops, took courage to print a f ew more num b ers upon the announcement that a free appeal was to be made to public suffrage ; Lubonis had the paper seized and its editor threatened with imprisonment. All the Sindaci, or Mayors, have been served with a notice, to inform them that France will hold the municipal authoriees accountable for the vote the people under their jurisdiction may come to. They (the Sindaci) are to hand over to the central autho rity the names of those who may show any zeal in their opposition to French annexation. The Bishop has issued a circular enforcing a vote for France as a "duty." The Governor has sent agents into the rural and mountain districts to " organize" the vote, granting them full powers even to dissolve the Mu nicipal Councils who may happen to have another mind than that of the Sardinian Governor, athirst for a French Prefecture. Hero in Turin, and throughout Italy, the loss of Nice is both galling and humiliating to the national feeling. The stanchest partisans of_Count Cavour are willing to allow that his late transactions have sunk his popu larity a hundred per cent. Even the city of Pavia, one of those so lately rescued from the Austrian yoke, cannot freely rejoice at its own deliverance, saddened at the thought that Nice is to be made over to the French domination. An address from that town to Garibaldi invites him to bear up the courage of his townsmen, s o as t o induce *them to resist to the last. The house met soon after 1 o'clock. All the de puties present in Turin were in their places. Eight of the Ministers attended. There was a crowd and intense expectation in the galleries. The new President, Lanza, for whom room was made by the Senior Vice-President, Zanolini, read himself in in a long written speech, which will ap pear in the official reports to-morrow. Even Italians begin to look rather blank at the sight of a MS. in Parliament, and they are by no means pleased to see a bad example set by a President, who, if he is not here called a " Speaker," neither should he be styled a " Reader." Count CaVour then rose, and laid on the Presi dent's table two bills, which he begged the house to declare of urgent interest ; one referred to the treaty with France, the other to the decree of annexa tion of the Central Italian Provinces, both of which the Minister hoped would pass through all the stages of discussion in both Houses 'between this and Saturday, Sunday being the day appointed for the King's journey to Tuscany, which will bring about a Parliamentary recess. Garibaldi then roso. With a firm, clear voice, he began by reading the fifth article of the Constitu tion, by which no sale or barter of any part of the State can take place without the consent of Parlia ment. He said— " The vote which has now been put to the provinces of Savoy and Nice is neither legal nor valid without the sanc tion of the Chambers. Nice came into the power of the House of Savoy in 1388, and in 1391 came to a compact with Count Amadeus VII., by virtue of which the Count could not part with the city or any part of the territory or people ; but, in the event of his releasing his Nizzards from their vote of allegiance, the latter were free in their choice of a new Sovereign, without being therefore amenable to the charge of rebellion. The treaty of. the 24th March, by which Nice is ceded to France, is not only an infraction of the old charter of Nice, but also a violation of the right of nationality. We are told that the exchange of two small Transalpine provinces against the /Emilia and Tuscany is a desirable bargain ; but the sale of a people is always a deplor able transaction, and the Italians of the Centre have but a poor earnest of the account into which the rights and wishes of a people are taken. If the Government reckons on the vote of the population, why should the vote of Nice be appointed for the 15th, while that of Savoy is to come off on the 22d. The moral pressure now exercised upon Nice by the French police renders an appeal to universal suffrage a mere deri sion. He spoke of the intrigues of the French police, of briberies and threats, of Lubonis's manifesto, by which it seemed as if a connivance - existed between the French agents and the King's Government, and ended by moving a resolution—that the vote of the people of Nice should be put off till Parliament had fully deliberated on the subject. Cavour rose to answer : " The treaty of the 24th of March is not an isolated fact ; it belongs to a series of great political transactions, some of which have been accomplished ; others are now in progress. To give the honourable general a satisfactory answer, I should have to enter into explanations as to the whole of our political system. This I must beg to postpone till the treaty with France comes on for discussion before the house. I may then lay the state of affairs before a committee of the house, and give all satisfactory information. The house knows I have invariably wished to have our policy freely canvassed before the house. What I have to declare at this moment is simply that this question of Savoy and Nice is merely a continuation of that policy which led us to Milan, Bologna, and Florence. Had we refused the treaty, we might have imperilled all our most glorious results. For the present this is not a discussion to be broUght before Par liament. The vote of the provinces is no unconstitutional proceeding. Parliament cannot be bound by the vote of the population. That vote can always be rescinded by Parlia ment. The sanction of the Chambers has always been one of the foremost conditions stipulated in the treaty. A clause of the same nature was introduced into the treaty of com merce lately concluded between France and Great Britain, and the freest Parliament in the world has been satisfied with it. Our national representatives ought not to be more jealous of their paramount authority than the Lords and Commons of England. The Government is not accountable for the intrigues of the party agents. They will see that the vote is given free from all undue pressure. The appeal to the suffrage in those provinces is made on the same prin ciple adopted for the States of Central Italy. Some of the acts of the provisional rulers in Nice are greatly to be re gretted. The Governor Lubonis not only exceeded but alto gether departed from his instructions. The man enjoyed a good character as a fair and impartial magistrate. All his previous conduct authorised the Government to expect a different' behaviour on his part. He has been gravely re primanded for his conduct." The Minister concluded by again begging for the postponement of this discussion. Laurenti Robandi said: — "Nice cannot be sold or given in exchange without the consent of Parliament. I accept the Minister's promise that there will be an open discussion in the Chambers and a free vote for the people. Thi s i s no political question, it is mat ter of honour and morality. While I consent to the adjourn ment of the question, I must beg leave to produce some documents proving what freedom of vote is allowed to the' Nizzards. (Ho then read Lubonis's proclamation, then the address of the Mayor of Nice to the citizens, and other offi cial papers proving that a vote for France is enforced by the King's officers almost in the King's name. He showed that the French party settled all the proceedings of the vote, so as to have all their own way.) Only five days were allowed for preparation. Frenchmen:of Nizzard extraction were ad mitted to the suffrage, whether or not they could prove their descent. There was a French committee taking upon them selves official authority. The priestsprayed Domtne &Timm fac Napoleonem,' &c. The Bishops declared a vote foi France to be matter of Christian duty, &c. There were French regiments, not passing through, but actually occu pying and garrisoning Nice; a cavalry regiment; three Fwnch frigates, with their sailors landing and setting up clamours of ' Vive la France,' &c. The impression has gone forth among the people that all is over—all is settled ; that France expects every man to do his duty, and will reward according to merit. There is a circular issued from the official press to that effect. " Cavour—By whom signed ? " Laurenti ltobandi—This copy has no signature. I came to it by the merest chance, as I receive no letters. I accuse no man, but the post never has any letters for me. The circular, however, is published by the Government printer in Nice." He then gave the names of some members of the French committee--Bruni Martini, and another Martini, a notorious swindler. Ile alluded to the seizure of the Nizzardo newspaper, whose only crime was, under the present circumstances, to dissuade the people from voting. "Is this," he now exclaimed, " freedom of vote ? Why should not the Nizzards be treated with the same fairness as the Tuscans or Romagnese ? Have they not shown themselves Italians? Have they not fought for the common cause? Have they not shed their blood ?" He then referred to Cavour's note t t o Thouvenel, purposely garbled in the Moniteur , to the King's speech in Parliament, to his proclamation to the people of Savoy and Nice. He insisted that freedom of vote had been promised to them by all that was most solemn and sacred, and that the promise should hold good. He asked that a vote of censure should be pronounced on the Provisional Government of Nice, as having violated the freedom of vote. As Cavour's speech was received with great ap plause, so those of Garibaldi and Laurenti Robandi were often interrupted by enthusiastic cheers, which were severely rebuked by the President Lanza. Mellana, of Casale (Extreme Left), said,— " The Minister puts off this discussion; but he may as well say at once that the vote of Savoy and Nice is a viola- tion of the Constitution. A veto of this nature might be proposed in the /Emilia and Tuscany, countries which revo lution has deprived of all legal government; but Piedmont is a firmly constituted Government ; no vote can be put to the people without the sanction of Parliament. Even with the consent of Parliament, the proceeding would be illegal ; for where is there any mention of universal suffrage in our laws ? Cavour Bays the question of Nice is bound up with that of nationality ; this i. au appeal to the principle of ex- pediency ; I stand on honour and right. I also turn round upon this house, crowded with deputies from the newly an nexed provinces, and I will tell them. In 1849 we had the Austrians west of the Ticino ; we had them on the ram parts of Alessandria. Yet we were bidden to sign a treaty derogatory to our honour ; and what answer did we then make? Here the orator was overpowered by choking emotion.] We are reminded of the gratitude we owe to France, but no feeling of that nature should interfere with what we owe to our honour. The hon. deputy then proposed that the vote of Parliament should precede all appeals to the popu lar suffrage. Farini, Home Minister, said,— " Parliament will not be biassed by the popular vote ; on the contrary, the result of the appeal to universal suffrage will enlighten Parliament as to the real views and tenden cies of the people of Savoy and Nice. I regret that the provisional rulers of Nice should not have followed instruc tions. The French troops are not permanent in Nice ; they go past one regiment after another, day by day. The cir cular of the Committee was printed by a printer who serves the Government, but cannot strictly be called an official person. On the voting day Nice shall be free from all sol diers. There will only be the Royal Carabineers. The Government wish they might trust the National Guards : but there are party divisions among them, and public order would not be safe with them." _ _ Mamiani, Minister of Public Instruction, whose faculties seem to be impaired by age, and who was never powerful in debate in his happiest times, detained the house with no very efficient speech : " This is no time," ho said, "to subtilise on points of leg tility. The treaty is dictated by necessity ; we must be resigned. In all sublunary matters, but especially in poli • tics, we must all always look to the end. It is sont9times necessary to lop off a limb to preserve a diseased body; Nice must be amputated. The , Nizzards hdve great sympathy with France; that nation attracts them as a strong Ama zon, whose charms are irresistible. Italy has numberless enemies. Should she part with her only ally, and follow a policy of isolation ? Read Lamoriciere's order of the day •Do you wish to undo all that has been done? Shall we suffer Central Italy to fall under the Pope, the Austrians, and Neapolitans ; fill the prisons, drench the scaffolds with blood, rather than Nice should follow the destinies which a great number of her population deem most propitious for her ?" Mamiani's speech was received with an attempt at applause, which was immediately hushed. The house was then addressed by Sineo, a mem ber of the Left; Boggio, a Ministerialist ;, Count Cavour ; and again by Farici, Cavour, Bottero, a Nizzard, and subsequently again by Laurenti Robandi and Garibaldi. Mancini, a Neapolitan, and a friend of tho Go vernment, stated that he could, on personal obser vation, assure the house that nothing could be more evident than the strong attachment of Nice to its Sovereign and to Italian nationality. Nothing like a fair vote could be obtained under the present pressure. He moved that the vote for Nice, no less than for Savoy, should be postponed to the 22d, and that two commissions of three deputies for each should be sent to see that the vote should be carried on in a fair manner. Cavour, with great vehemence, rejected this mo tion. He said he had enjoyed great popularity, and saw the present crisis would deprive him of it. He nevertheless wished all the responsibility of the present transaction shot% rest on the Ministers alone, and would neither screen himself behind Parliament, nor let the responsibility weigh on it. The different resolutions were then put to the vote, and the house decided in favour of that moved by the Ministerial member, Boggio, who only " re solved that the Ministers should see that the vote of Savoy and Nice was given in all sincerity and freedom." The house adjourned at a quarter before 6. Gari baldi was received with thy greatest enthuiiasni by the vast crowd assembled outside the Palace, and actually carried away in triumph. Yet he had not been very happy in his second Parliamentary attempt, and I e ought to have been satisfied with his first appearance in his new character of an orator. He said himself, with great aptness, that" he might perhaps better trust his powers in handling a rifle than in addressing a house filled with some of the greatest literary celebrities in this country." APRIL 13. Yesterday's sitting in the House of Deputies left a deep, sorrowful impression, from which I really believe not one of the thousand persons present has yet fully recovered. The Government gained but too easy a victory, yet a victory on which they have but little reason to congratulate themselves. That pres sure which Count Cavour is obliged to exercise both on the Parliament and on the population of Savoy and Nice, weighs on no man so heavily as on the Premier himself. Had he at least been free to speak out, and to acknowledge the straits in which the overbearing arrogance to his " magnanimous ally" places him, he would easily have turned the oppo sition of his most inveterate adversaries into cordial sympathy. Not being able to speak from his place in the house, or even in the columns of the Gazette, he gives vent to his own feelings, and appease the angry feelings of his countrymen, in a short article in the semi-official Tinione, from which I extract a few sentences. " The discussion arising from Garibaldi's question," he says— " Was a prolonged outcry of grief, which broke forth from every Deputy of Nice, and was echoed by the heart and soul of all the representatives of the nation. Let not a word be said about compensation, exchange, or bargain ; let the act be described for what it is, a great, a sorrowful sacrifice, to which the nation submits for the welfare of all. This will account for the large majority which voted yester day for the Government. It was a painful but inevitable duty that was to be fulfilled ; and let the Opposition refrain from boasting. They might safely enough wage war to the best of their powers; but they were too glad, as they were certain to be in the minority." So it is. The Government must feel bitter about their triumph ; the Opposition would have been too utterly undone by success. The Minister Mamiani blurted out the truth with more than Arcadian sim plicity. " France is an Amazon, a terrible Amazon, which inspires terror, even when she allures you with her smiles." Pity Cavour attempted to coquet with this dread virago ! Mamiani's theory about legality and expediency no longer, one would fain hope, belongs to our age. We are sick of the old definition, describing a diplomatist " as a man sent abroad to lie for the benefit of his country." In the same manner we must protest against Mamiani's notions of a political man. Whoever hesitates to walk to his goal from fear of the sorrows he may have to tread upon, may be an excellent person, but he is not a political man. He is but a craven who end angers life in his reluctance to submit a diseased limb to the surgeon's scalpel. "The law of necessity is paramount over all considerations." Surely there is a limit to this somewhat free-and easy theory. Had it been in the power of Count Cavour to foresee not only that he was to lose Savoy and Nice, but also that the sacrifice was to be at tended by the violation of all the laws and statutes of the country, by a breach of all the commonest rules of equity, truth, and honour, he would not be entitled to the name of man —say nothing of the character of statesman—if he had deliberately in volved himself in his present difficulties. But it is in the nature of this great and good man to play a high game. The stake was great, the prize tempt ing, and he is accustomed to rely on his 99 chances of good luck. His achievements in Lombardy and Central Italy justified his overweening confidence, but now he is called to the reckoning. He must not only pay the stake, butpay it in the very coin which the croupier calls for. He must not only give up Savoy and. Nice, but he must bear a hand in all the fraud and violence by which those two provinces are made to change masters. Would, at least, that ho was sure his present countenance precludes future demands ! No one could hear without a shudder Mamiani's assertion "that Italy must choose between French alliance and complete isolation." And Mellana asked with good reason, " Where is there to be the end of these French slopes ? Did they not, under the first Em pire, extend to all Liguria, and even to this sacred land, from which, at least, our speech is now em powered to go forth freely ? Give up principles, and then tell us where you will find resolution to say to an encroaching neighbour 'so far and no further P' " Mamiani threw out a hint that Italy needed the aid of France for the deliverance of Venice, ROMP, and Naples. Is it quite so certain that Napoleon 111. will never at any time join Austria, the Pope, and Bourbon to the ruin of Italy ? Time will show. In the mere display of Parliamentary eloquence the ever-memorable sitting of yesterday did mot strike mere spectators as giving , evidence of any extraordinary powers on either side. Count Cavour spoke under restraint, and his temper never fails to get the better of him whenever he has to contend with difficulties which place him at a manifest dis advantage. Yet even in the little he had to say, and in his peculiar frame of mind, his transcendent logical gifts were evinced with sufficient clearness; and he displayed enough of that ability which dis incline him not only to admit a rival, but even a sharer of his power. He is an inelegant speaker, but the closest, clearest, readiest reasoner that ever was. Yesterday's debate fully justified his reluct ance to trust either his colleagues or his partisans with, the advocacy of his principles or conduct. He was yesterday rather feebly seconded by the Mini sterial Board, or the benches o f th e ma j or i ty. Ferm i i s a highly polished writer, a copious, and sometimes even happy speak er . H e i s one o f t h e most upright and generous patriot s i n It a ly, an d the page Italian history he h as l a t e l y ac t e d i n the /Emilia will read more glorious than any of the volumes he has written ; but yesterday he would better have consulted the interests of the Cabinet and his own fair name had he simply held his tongue. His very fairness and honesty, his best feelings, were against him. The quibble " that the French were only goi ng th roug h, no t s t ay i ng a t Nice," should have been left to the Moniteur. As for his disapproval of Luboni's manifesto, " least said soonest mended." Is. he not the Home Mini ster ? If he was disappointed in the man, why not at least remove, or even p rosecu t e him? Surely if there eyer was a case of leze majeste, no less than leze natzonalite, it was that of this magistrate, who, in the name of impartiality, exhorts the Nizzards to fall off from King and Country ? The Opposition easily earned the honours of the day; for, as I their own hearts, that of their hearers, and ev en th a t o f their opponents, were with them. Garibaldi's brave bluntness, Laurenti Ro bandi's passionate tones, Meliana's tribunitian de clamation, Mancini's earnest truth—everything told. But these men are, after all, only the "small fry" of their party. The " great guns," Cabell a and Sistori, only allowed themselves a few remarks. The still greater champions, Cattaneo and Guer razzi, have not yet made their appearance. A mistake occurred in my yesterday's hurried report. Count Cavour laid upon the table both the treaty with France and the decrees for the annexe- tion of Central Italy, but only the latter were pre sented for immediate deliberation. The discussion of the annexation of iEtnilia and Tuscany, which comes on to-day, will not occupy the Chamber many minutes. The measure came before the house in two sepa rate bills. Last evening these were taken into con sideration in the diffe ren t sec ti ons o f th e h ou se, and . then by a commission consisting of members chosen by each of the nine sections. The commission then appointed a reporter, who was to inform the Cham ber as to resolutions of the different sections and of the commission upon the bill. These are the suc cessive stages through which every bill must pass , corresponding to the first, second, and third read ing of a bill in the English Houses of Parliamer.t. On this occasion all these idle forms were hurled, through at a tearing gallop. The reporter (Saraeee) made an appropriate speech, celebrating the happy series of events by which 12,000,000 of Italians were brought to constitute one family ; and the President proceeded to put to the vote the Jew words by which the house expressed its approval of the King's decree. As the question was put, all the members rose at once with a loud shout of exultation, which was still more loudly re-echoed by the galleries, and a loyal cheer of " Viva it Re !" again and again broke from the hearts of all persons present. Notwith standing this hearty, spontaneous, and universal acclamation, it was necessary again to put the question to the Note by ballot. Two hours were thus lost in this mere dull piece of formality—sum moning the members by the appel nominal, and bidding them deposit their white or black balls in the respective urns. The results were : For the annexation of the Xmilia—members pre sent, 215 ; voters, 214 ; for the bill, 214 ; against, 0. One deputy, Chenal, a Savoyard, abstained from voting. For the annexation of Tuscany—deputies present, 213 ; voters, 212 ; for the bill, 211 ; against, 1. Chenal again refused to vote. The result of the ballot was again received with prolonged applause. Bertani, a Lombard, wished to put a question to the Ministers on the late events in Sicily. Count Cavour somewhat tartly replied that he would vouchsafe no answer to questions addressed to him without the formal courtesy of a previous notice. The matter before the house was of urgent importance, and he would call upon the hon. deputy to put off his intarpellanza till to-morrow. Massei, a Tuscan, addressed the Ministers on the subject of the " autonomy" or separate administra tion of Tuscany. He valved, he said, the 'honour conferred upon his native province by sending a Royal Lieutenant, a Prince of the blood, to reside at Florence. He was glad his country was placed under the rule of Baron Ricasoli, a man whose wisdom and firmness had so ably steered the State in days of great difficulty and danger Still there were ,drawbacks to all these signal advantages. The statute, though long since promulgated, was not yet carried into effect. The Sardinian law on the National Guard was not yet applied to Tuscany, and the law of " suspects," empowering a prefect of the police to proceed " economically "—that ill secretly and summarily, against the citizens, inflict , - ing even a penalty of three years' imprisonment,. was not yet abolished. He was aware that not- a little of the Leopoldine laws, which were the heart of Tuscan civilisation, might with advantage be ex tended to the whole of the new Italian monarchy. Still, he insisted that the present provisional con dition of Tuscany was injurious to her welfare,and hoped the Ministers were earnestly thinking of , a cessation of the evil. Parini, the Home Minister, rose to reply. He was under a strong impression that the statute was in full activity in Tuscany as in the other provinces of the realm. He thought all exceptional and- arbi- trary measures of the Tuscan police had come to an end. He was almost sure of it ; but he would in- quire and ascertain. The Government was most anxious to bring about a real fusion of the Tuscan with the Sardinian and Lombard laws, 'and would see that the advantages which were hitherto con fined to one province should become common to all. Garibaldi left this morning at 10 o'clock for Nice. A Tuscan regiment, the 36th, was received in Turin yesterday with enthusiastic acclamation. It was the first corps from Central Italy that has AN yet been seen in the capital. COUNTRY MARKETS COLCHESTER-APRIL 14. A tolerable supply of wheat, and for the best samples 2s advance freely obtained on last we*'s prices. Barley comes scarce, and dearer. Beans and peas were the turn in favour of the seller. Wheat, white 4Bs to 54s Beans, Mazagan..32s to 36s red 46s to 52s Middle & small 36s to 47s Barley 36s to 50s White peas 36s to 386 Oats 2os to 238 Grey.. 32s to 386 CHELMSFORD-APRIL 13. There was a fair supply of wheat; generally the trade was good at a rise of is per qr over late prices for the best sorts ; inferior at late rates. Oats and barley fully 18 up. Beaas and peas firm at last week's prices. Wheat, wiiite 43s t0.56s Peas, Partridge ..40s to 41 5 red 42s to 50s White 40s to 423 Barley 328 to 42s Boiling 4os to 43 3 Chevalier ....368 to 46s Dun 35s to 33 5 Grinding 26s to 318 Beans Tick ....40s to 43 3 Malt 60s to 66s Harrow Ticks 43s to 46 5 Chevalier 638 to 68s Mazagan 37s to 3 96 Oats 268 to 31s KIRICALDY—Arnt L 14.' Here to-day we have had very small supplies of every kind of grain. Sales brisk, at fully is higher. Wheat Barley Oats First.... 45s Od 38s Od 24s Od Second.. 598 Od 438 Od 305 Od Tbird 52s Od —s Od 32s 6d COAL MARKET—APRIL 16. (Prices of Coal per Ton at the close of the market.) s. a. Walla End. Byass's Belaside West Hartley . 15 6 Davison's West Hart- Heugh Hall Keiper Grange Cassop North Hartlepool... South Hartlepool. Braddy - 11's Hetton Whamcliffe Woodhouse Close Triwdon Thornley Eden Main Hetton.... Thorpe Carway and Duffryn Malting . Llangennech :et, 30—Sold, 27. --- ley - - .16 0 Howard's West Hart- ley - - 16 0 tantield Moor l2 6 ranfield Moor I.3utes 12 6 Wylam l6 0 Lambert's West Hart ley l5 6 Walls End. Fothergill's Abciffare..2l 0 Framwellgate l9 6 Shincliffe , .19 0 Ships at marks FOREIGN MAIL PACKET LIST. ,i 9 6.. 6. ,20 • ,15 .20 ‘, •„' ,20 ,19 .16 6 6 ,17 . 19 . 6 21 ,20 n ,23 v . 21 0 In the following table E signifies that letters are despatahe a by evening mails from London, and M by morning mail l• /W t DESTINATIONS. Despatch Port of rd sl. of Mails. Despatch. due- Australia and Mauritius, via ' Southampton May 12, M )Sonthamp. Mal i° Ditto, via Marseilles Bahamas and Havana via New Maw 0 York May 12, E Liierpool.. 0 Canada, (Etc. (by Canada . pckt ) AprillB, E Liverpool.. Ap Cape of Good Hope, Ascen sion, ~ v 3 and St. Helena May 5, EPevonport . AO , China, Penang, and Singa 111Spore, via Southampton April 20, 51(Southamp. AV . 26 .' Ditto, via Marseilles April2 6, El AP I I / j s Gibraltar, via Southampton .. ) April2o ,11 Southamp. Apr : Honduras and Ditwfields .... April—, M Southamp. API . " , -- India (Calcutta) and Ceylon, ril IS via Southampton April2o, Pit nthamp. Ditto, via Marseilles ^ India (Bombay), via South- A .01 25 ampton April 27, M Southamp. —= . 1 10 Ditto, via Marseilles Lisbon, Brazils,Buenos Ayres, an F. Islands May 9,M Southamp. M. ' 1 ,. 5 ;1 5 2 &1 Lisbon, Vigo, and Oporto April l 7 ,1% , 1 Southamp. AT' - Malta, Egypt, and Adeu, via Acrill s Southampton April% ,31 Southamp. 1 119 Ditto, via Marseilles Mexico and Havana -- Newfoundland April24, E Liverpool.. United States and British et) ril 26 America (by British pack April 21, E Liverpool.. A P__ Ditto (by U. S. packet) West Coast of Africa, Ma- M a y 10 deira, and Tenerife April 23 E Liverpool.. West India, California, Tene zuela, Chili, Peru, Grey- May li town, New Granada, dm. - , M Sot. April'-, H, BIRTHS. the FREEMAN.—On the 16th inst., at 6, Camden-square , - wife of Charles Edwards Freeman, Esq., of a daught er ' JENNER.—On Low Sunday, at the Vicarage, Preetff, nex t-Wi n gham, the wife of the Rev. Henry La's Jenner, of a daughter. PETILE.—On the 15th inst., at 57, Portland-place, the La dl Petre, of a daughter. MARRIAGES. CONSTAPLE—RIDDELL.—OII the 12th inst., at Letha in n i Haddingtonshire, James Charles Constable, Doi" - f Cally, Perthshire, to Jane Anna, the eldest daughter a Robert Riddell, Esq., advocate. SIIEPIIERD—BRADFORD.-011 the 12th inst., at F i q b 43 9 Devonshire, John Mayne Drake Shepherd, of Comae'" "' Fishacre House, to Bl anc h, e ld e st daughter of t he John Bradford, vicar. DJ A.THS. BOSTON.—On the 14th inst., atßelave-square, the Righ t gr Hon. Lady Boston. BVNITURY.—On the 13th inst , at 13-trton, Bury St. Ed mund's, Lieut.-General Sir . Henry E. Banbury, Bart., K.C.8., aged 52. ' VERNON.—On. the 14th inst., su dd en ly, at 51, on , 01 C u mber - , land-street, Hyde-park, C a ptain Leicester Vern Ardington House, Berko, and M.P. for the county LONDON : Printed and Published by M URDO I'O II N O, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The ,Fun OfEco, No. 112 ; °' Strand, in the Precinct of the Sav o y , in the °multi Middlesex, Tuesday, April 17, 1860. ~~•'^