The Sun. — London, England, 1867-03-15 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT HOUSE OF LORDS—LAsT EVENING. The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat OR the woolsack at five o'clock. THE TORNADO. Lord DERBY laid on the table of the house the papers in the case of the Tornado. METROPOLITAN TRAFFIC BILL. This bill was read a third time aad passed. THE HYPOTEIEC AMENDMENT (SCOTLAND) BILL. Lord SONDES moved the reference of this bill to a select committee, which was agreed to. TRADES UNION BILL. Lon? LIFFORD moved that this bill be recommitted There would ba three commissions appointed to investi gate into the matter. Lord ST. LEONARDS made some remarks against a certain clause in the bill, which he denounced as an ex ceptional legislation. Earl GRANI , ILLE having made a few remarks upon the postponement of the bill, it was postponed for a week. RAILWAY TRAFFIC PROTECTION BILL. Lord REDESDALE having moved the second read ing. Lord CLANRICARDE said that this was one of the best bills on the question which could be proposed. The rail ways were for the convenience of the public, and it was absolutely necessary that protection should be given to the companies in order to protect their stock from seizure, which would manifestly involve great public inconve nience. Ho trusted, however, that the noble lord would pay particular attention to the clauses of the bill. The Duke of CLEVELAND thought that the bill ought to be proceeded with as soon as possible. _ _ Lord REDESDALE said that this bill was intended purely to be a protection to the railway company until the Ist August next. Ile considered that it would be better to have the second reading of the bill. After a few observations from the Duke of DEVONSHIRE, The bill was read a second time. RECOVERY OF CERTAIN DEBTS (SCOTLAND) BILL. The appointment of the committee on this bill was postponed. RECRUITING IN THE ARMY. Lord PA NMUB,E said that ho approached this subject without any apology. Ile thought that it was only in justice to himself that ho should lay before them, as he intended to do that evening, the whole of the particulars of this really most important question. He conceived that such questions, involving considerations only to the subject of domestic policy, should not be referred to a commission. The reorganisa tion of the army was one of the most vital principles of the day. The commission had inquired into the whole sys tem of recruiting and the means which should be taken to make the services of the recruits valuable to the army. All this had been done, and it had been found that the system of recruiting was very defective, and therefore they had advised that an officer should be appointed to superintend the whole of the recruiting. lie (Lord Panmure) had heard in another place that suggestion was going to be adopted by her Majesty's Go vernment. There was a second consideration to which they had given their attention, that of the grievances of the soldier. The principal ono appeared to be the manner of pay. After the many deductions were made from his pay of ls. a day he hardly received anything. (Hear ; hear.) Another point was that the soldier had to pay 12s. a year for his tunic; this was considered to be a hard ship. Now, iu another instance, it was discovered that, especially with cavalry soldiers, three-quarters of a pound of meat was not enough. The noble lord condemned the idea of giving 2d. a day to the soldier. if that were done it might contribute to stop complaints for a time, but they would eventually crop up again, and such a conces sion would be of no avail. The reducing of the stoppages would cost £lB,OOO, butlif the extra quantity of meat were given it would amount to nearly £200,000. He defended the Limited Enlistment Act against the unfavourable criti cisms which he said had been passed upon it by most com manding officers, an suggested various slight modifications which ho believed would increase its efficiency. The Com missioners, ho said, had not felt it to be part of their func tions to enter upon the question of the organisation of an army of reserve, but, speaking for himself, Lord Dalhousie was of opinion that the proposal to raise the militia force to 120,000, of whom one-third should be attached, in case of war, as a reserve to the regular army,was wholly inadequate to the wants and to the resources of the country. He strongly urged the adoption of a system of compulsory ser vice in the militia, which he believed, if any Government were bold enough to propose, Parliament and the country would be willing to support. Lord LONGFORD, observing that ho had been a mem ber of the Commission which had made certain recommen dation, sand was a member of the Government which had disregarded some of those recommendations, entered rather fully into the details of the various questions involved, de fending the decision of the War-office to grant a snu..ll in crease of pay instead of the deferred advantages recom mended by the Commission, as better calculated to attain the object both had in view, the improvement of our re cruiting system. Lord DE GREY, referring to a remark of the last speaker, expressed his opinion that the Limited Enlistment Act had answered the expectations of its authors, and then pro ceeded to discuss the question of providing a reserve force for the army, arguing that, while we were less exposed to invasion than continental countries, although the increase of foreign naval power had diminished, our security in that respect, yet, unlike other great States, we had no compul sory enlistment, and our army was called upon to do ser vice in many distant portions of the globe. The plan enun ciated on the part of the Government appeared to him to be inadequate and unsatisfactory, and ho recommended that the Militia Force should be strengthened in number and improved by training, so as to constitute it what it really should be, the main Reserve Force for the country's defence, the Volunteers and the Yeomanry forming sub sidiary branches of the same force. The Duke of CAMBRIDGE said that military adminis trations in this country are placed in a poeiticn of great difficulty. They are subject to the constant control both of public opinion and of the House of Commons. And they are very often prevented from doing what they believed would promote the efficiency of the service by the regard of the House of Cammons for the public purse. With re spect to the recommendations of the Recruiting Commis sion, it was his opinion that the best thing for the soldier was to improve his condition ; yet, on the other hand, the thing that will bring most men into the service is an in crease of pay. After all, this is a mere question of the labour market. This is the only great country, with the exception of the United States, where there is no conscrip tion, and therefore we are obliged to go to the labour mar ket to get the man who serves his country, not for honour and glory, but for reward. For that reason ho approved the course taken by the Government in adding to the pay of the soldier, rather than carrying out the recommendations of the commission for the improvement of his condition. 110 regretted that a man who re-enlisted after his first period of service will only receive an additional ld. instead of 241. a day ; but still, when it was considered that such a man will have 3d. a day more than at present, there is really not very much to complain of. He did not think that the Limited Enlistment Act had operated injuri ously to the army. At the same time, he was of opinion that great advantage will result from lengthening the first period of service from 10 to 12 years, and shortening the second period of service. The difference of two years will not prevent a man enlisting in the first instance ; but the shorter the period of second service the more likely he is to re-enlist. He did not think that it would be possible to have a shorter term than seven years' service in the regular army before men are allowed to enter the reserve. The proposal of the Government for the formation of a reserve force will meet the wants of the service to a limited extent, and he did not think that it would be possible to forms a large force without incurring an ex pense which no Government would incur. The Govern ment plan would, however, enable us to increase the number of men in regiments ordered for active service at the commencement of a war to 1,000 men. That would be a great gain, because it would relieve us from the ne cessity of either sending out weak regiments, or of making up their ranks by volunteers from others, which would of course be in this way proportionately weakened. It was said that it would be desirable to keep the reserve for foreign service distinct from the militia, but he did not think this would be possible ; nor did he believe that the militia will suffer from the arrangement proposed. The more the question is considered, the more it will be apparent that the scheme which has been adopted by the Government is the best that could be proposed with a due regard to economy. At all events, the ex pense of the reserve cannot be found fault with, for it will not amount to more than .f.,50,000 a year—a very small sum to pay for some 30,000 or 40,000 men. He contended that the men aro better taken care of and are much better off at Aldershot than in country quar ters, as is proved by the low sick rate. le is absurd to call this a camp ; it is, in fact, a military station, and con tains ample and excellent accommodation for the troops stationed there. Lord GREY approved comparatively short periods of actives service with liebility to bo called upon to act in the Loserve in case of no:.(1, as more acceptablo to the soldier and more beneficial to the country. The motion for paper ; which Lurd Dautousm had for mally moved was then agreed to. Their lordships then adjourned. MOUSE OF COMMONS -LAST EVENING, - _ The SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock. THE REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE. Mr. MILL gave notice that ho would draw the attention of the house to the plan of personal representation. THE PARIS EXHIBITION. Mr. AKROYD asked the Secretary to the Treasury if his attention had been called to the very incomplete state in which the British portion of the Paris Exhibition was now placed; and whether be intended to have it com pleted in a manner worthy of the commercial dignity and importance of this country. LtOPE said before the question was answered be should like to know whether the sum of £116,000 which had been voted for expenses would be exceeded or not. Mr. HUNT said the question of the hon. gentleman seemed to imply that the Secretary of the Treasury had the direction of the works in Paris. Such was not the case, but he had made inquiry, and he had received a communication from the executive com mission of the Royal Commissioner, which stated that the present state of the British portion of the Exhibition was in consequence of the work not being done. (Hear, and laughter.) It was, however, in progress, and would be finished by the first of April. (Laughter.) Tie had since that communication received additional information, which stated that the British portion of the Exhibition was much more advanced than that of other countries. Mr. CRAWFORD asked the name of the Executive Commissioner. Mr. HUNT said the document was signed "Richard Thompson." (Laugh te r.) REFORNI BILL FOR SCOTLAND. Colonel SYKES asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it was the purpose of the Government to bring before the house this session a Reform Bill for the repre sentation of Scotland ; if so, whether the principles of re presentation to be adopted in the Reform Bill for England and Wales would be applied to Scotland ; and whether any attempt would be made, to a greater or less extent, to ad just the number of representatives in Scotland to the present wealth and population of the country ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said it was the intention of the Government to introduce a bill for Scotland, but at that moment he could not state the exact period at which it would be brought forward. The prin ciples would be the same as those embodied in the English bill—(hear, hear) -with such alterations as the different laws of the two countries rendered necessary. With respect to the other part of the inquiry as to whether there was an intention to increase the representation in Scotland, all he could say at that moment was that the matter was under consideration, and the subject would be decided upon its merits. THE WATERFORD ELECTION. Mr. LAWSON asked the Attorney-General for Ireland whether he had taken any stops to investigate the two cases of homicide which occurred at Dungarvan, and which formed the subject of the coroner's inquests held there ; and whether his attention had been called to the observations of Mr. Justice O'Hagan to the Grand Jury of Waterford upon that subject ? The ATTORNEY-GENERAL for IRELAND said steps had been taken, and by his direction matters were now in progress to ascertain if possible the names of the military who made the charge during the late election for Waterford, in order that the whole subject might undergo investigation. With respect to the other subject men tioned notice had been taken of the matter to which he referred. GREENWICH HOSPITAL. Sir C. BRIGHT asked the Secretary to the Ad miralty if, as a portion of Greenwich Hospital had been granted to the Seamen's Hospital Society for seamen of the mercantile marine, the Government would also grant a portion of the unoccupied space upon the same conditions, for a public hospital for the reception of sick and diseased persons belonging to the borough of Green wich ? Mr. DU CANE said a portion of the hospital had been granted to the Seamen's Hospital Society with the reser vation that in the event of the requirements made by one or other circumstance Government should be at liberty to resume possession. If a portion of the hospital was given for Greenwich, it would be quite at variance with the in tention of the founder of the institution. CHAIN CABLES. Mr. LAIRD asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whe ther, as all the chain cables and anchors manufactured in the country were required, by the act of 1864, to be tested by the Admiralty standard, the Board had terminated, or intended to ter minate, the contract between the Admiralty and Messrs. Brown, Lennox, and Co., and to open up to the competi tion of respectable makers the future supply of chain cables and anchors for her Majesty's service. Lord 11. LENNOX said notice of the intention of the Government bad been given not to renew the contract with Messrs. Brown, Lennox, and Co. THE RAID IN HONDURAS. Mr. GOSCHEN asked the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he could communicate to the house any information with regard to the recent incursion of Indians into the colony of Honduras, and to an action alleged to have taken place between them and a portion of the 3d West Julia R-giment ; and whether his attention had been called to an extract from the Jamaica Gleaner, con taining serious imputations on the conduct of the English officer in command on that occasion, who, it was stated, while in command of 150 men met a party of Indians amounting to about 50 ; that he retreated, leaving his kit, arms, and wounded on the ground. Mr. ADDERLEY said it was true that there had been a raid of the Indians, and a communication had been sent to General O'Connor, the officer in command in Jamaica, who had despatched Mr. Rice and Major Mackey to Honduras. The information that had come to the Government was to the effect that both parties—the Indians and the soldiers —retreated. (Laughter.) Inquiry would be made into the conduct of the troops on the occasion. THE REFORM BILL. Mr. LOCKE called the attention of the house to the de lay that had taken place in the production of the papers on the subject of Reform, alluded to by the noble lord the member for Stamford, which the right hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on Tuesday the sth inst., said he hoped to be able to lay upon the table of the house in a few days. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER sail the papers would bo in the hands of the members by to-morrow or Saturday. Mr. GLADSTONE asked whether the printing of the Reform Bill would be so expedited as to be in the hands of hon. members on Tuesday morning. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER replied in the affirmative. Mr. GLADSTONE then asked whether the returns to be laid before the House as to the number of male occu piers would distinguish between those who paid their own rates and the compound householders. Turning to the business of the evening, he pointed out the peculiar im portance of these Estimates, which involved not only an increase of charge, but the stoppage of some important work now in progress, and the commencement of other extensive works, and insisted that in the absence of Sir J. Pakington, who had framed the Estimates, and Mr. Corry, who was responsible for them, it was impossible for the House to discuss them satisfactorily. He suggested that the Secretary to the Admiralty should make his state ment, if that were absolutely necessary for the public ser vice ; but that no vote should be taken to-night, since those members who wished to discuss the general policy of the navy would be precluded, if the first vote (for wages) were once passed. Mr. WHITE interposed some remarks on the statistical question, insisting that what the House, already suffering from a plethora of statistics, wanted was " less figures and more frankness." The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER protested against Mr. Gladstono's request as utterly unreasonable and unintelligible, and pointed out that for seven years under Lord Palmerston's Government the Naval Estimates had been annually moved by the Secretary of the Navy. The progress of public business, ;he asserted, would be seriously retarded by the delay proposed by Mr. Gladstone, since Mr. Corry could not be in his place before the 25th inst., and, while dwelling on the general responsibility of all the Ministers for the Estimates, he added that but for the accidental non-return of his writ Sir J. Pakington would have been in his place to assist the Secretary of the Admiralty. lle complained warmly that Mr. Gladstone's tone was not such as the Government had a right to count upon, and intimated that, though it would be convenient to proceed with the Estimates, he would leave it to the house. Sir G. GREY maintained that the proper person to move the Naval Estimates was the person who represented the Admiralty in the House of Commons. Lord H. LENNOX said that he had undertaken the duty of proposing the Estimates at three days' notice, but after Mr. Gladstone's remarks he should decline to make any statement which was not to be followed by practical action. (Here there were loud cries of "Go on.") Mr. B. OSBORNE denied that there was any unanimous desire on the Opposition side to prevent Lord H. Lennox making his statement. He hoped the Chancellor of the Exchequer would persist iu putting him up, for subordi nates were generally so "sat upon" by their chiefs that they had few opportunities of displaying their talents. There was no reason why he should not take a vote on account to-night. Mr. STANSFELD insisted that if the first vote were agreed to the opportunity of discussing the important ques tions of policy involved in the estimates would be lost, and it was impossible to discuss them in the absence of the head of the department. Lord J. MANNERS replied that for some years under the late Government the Army and Navy Estimates were discussed while the heads of the departments were in the Upper House. The propriety of only taking a vote on account was urged by Mr. Horsman, Major Jervis, Mr. Sandford, and Captain Vivian. Sir 11. EDWARDS strongly condemned tho obstruc tive course of the Opposition, and Mr. If. BAILLIE in sisted that the Government ought to move the vote iu tho ordinary - way, and the Opposition, if they thought fit, might then object. Lord 11. LENNOX again protested that he would not make his statement on sufferance, or any condition differ ing from those under which the head of the Department would have made it. The house then went into committee of supply. THE NAVY ESTIMATES. Lord 11. LENNOX, who was indistinctly heard, said— Before finake my statement, I must in a special manner claim the indulgence and clemency of this committee, con sidering how short a time I have had since I received no tice from her Majesty's Government of their wish that I should, in consideration of the present state of public busi ness, undertake this duty. The first point to which 1 will draw the attention of the committee before I proceed to speak on the votes which form the bulk of the estimate, is a short epitome of the sums that were required for the service last year, and the amounts we ask the committee for this year, I will distinguish in the several votes the effective from the non-effective branches of the service, and allude to the salient points in which the present estimates differ from those of the past two years. For the year 1866-7 my gal lant predecessor (Lord C. Paget) naked the committee to vote £10,388,739. But during the course of the session several supplementary votes were added, amounting in all to £46,500. One was for the first three months' increase of pay of the medical officers of the navy. The vote I now ask for is £10,926,250, being an excess of £545,000 over the original estimate of last year, and £490,518 over the ordinary and supplementary estimates together of last year. The committee must not suppose the whole of that sum is due to the effective service of the navy. For the effective service this year wo shall require £9,067,758, showing an increase of £480,260 over the similar service for last year. The non-effective service this year requires £2,000,000. But over many of the items of this vote the Board of Admi ralty have no possible control. The first is an increase in half-pay and pensions. Tho second is for the transport of troops, a matter resting entirely with the War-office, whose orders in such matters the Admiralty are bound to obey. A third item is £50,000, or the first year's moiety of £lOO,OOO towards building a turret ship for the colony of Victoria. That is a question of colonial policy, it being con sidered desirable to encourage that colony in a self-reliant spirit of self-defence. The salient point of increase of esti mates is the item of £528,000 excess over last year in vote 10, section 2. But there is a reduction of £175,000 in the Storekeeper-General's Department, which will reduce that increase. The committee will remember that it is very difficult in these days to keep down estimates when every day there are costly inventions of science both in ship building and gunnery. I can assure the committee these estimates have engaged the careful attention of the Board of Admiralty, and that no item of increase has been admitted without the most scrupulous consideration. It will be interesting to the country to know that the exact force of ships in commission amounts to 554. Vote No. 1 for the number of seamen and boys, shows a reduction of 283 officers and men. Of that number, 131 aro commissioned officers, and there is a smaller reduction amongst the sub ordinate officers. The reduction amongst the officers is due to an arrangement sixteen months since stopping the entry of engineers into the navy, in consequence of the great number of those officers in the service. The other reduc tion is due to the minute of Sir A. Milne restricting, for the same reason, the entry during the past year of naval cadets, tkere being four years supply of these young gen tlemen in excess. There is also a decrease of petty officers and seamen to the extent of 145. The number of men asked for this year is 37,015; last year the number was 37,300. But the reduced number involves an increase of cost, for the 37,015 men this year cost £1,990,862, whereas the 37,300 men last year cost £1,979,048. Adding the supplementary votes, the total cost of the 37,300 men last year was £1,982,703, or £8,159 less than the reduced num ber of men required this year. That increased cost is due to the generosity of the house to the medical officers, and to the fact that there are more officers of high rank draw ing pay this year than last year. The Board of Admiralty, to allow for the waste in the navy, have decided to add 418 boys to the numbers last year, as the most efficient mode of supplying future seamen. It is usual on these occasions to say something with regard to the moral and physical wel fare of the men and the popularity of the service. I can with great pleasure announce that their condition is most favourable. The waste of our seamen is under 10 per cent., or less than it has been for many years. The number of con tinuous service mon has increased from 31,336 on 31st March, 1866, to 31,612 on Ist January last. That is satisfactory, as showing the popularity of the service. Another satisfactory test is the decrease in the crime of desertion. The propor tion, in 1862, was 41 per cent.; in 1863, 31 per cent. ; iu 1864, 3 per cent.; in 1865, 21 per cent.; in 1866, 21 per cent. and in 1866-7 only 2i per cent. There is another point which may be looked on as a test, and which is equally satisfactory, and this is the increase in good-conduct pay, which this year is very considerable. There is another point, tending in the same direction, also very satisfactory. While in 1861 the number of trained gunners was 2269, in 1866 tkey had risen to 5,786. I must not only call atten tion to the moral welfare of the navy, but to its sanitary state, which lam happy to say is most satisfactory. The sick rate is 133.8 per 1,000, the average during the last 10 years being 147.2. The death rate is the least recorded in any past year, being 10.5 per 1,000, or 1.1 per 1,000 lower than the average rate of mortality amongst the healthiest operative class in the country. There is another subject which must be probed and met, because it is one upon which not only the efficiency of our army and navy depend but on which ,depends in a great measure the strength, vigour, and energy of the human race. This is the subj e ct of the hospitals for contagious diseases and the accommo dation which has been afforded in several of the seaport and garrison towns. Three of those institutions are under the immediate care of the Admiralty, and the others under the charge of the War-office. I shall ask the committee to vote a sum of £1,500 this year in excess of the vote of last year for the provision against contagious diseases. Though at Portsmouth, from want of accommodation, the success had at first been small, the progress since that accommodation was provided has been very satisfactory. Accounts receivell yesterday from Hasler Hospital showed a diminution in the number of cases, and an amelioration in the severity of the disease. At Plymouth a new wing was built to an hospital, to which the Government subscribed, accommo dation being provided for 60 of these unfortunate people. The hon. member for the Tower Hamlets, in speaking on this subject when the estimates were under discus sion, contrasted the proposed system of this country with that of Franca, where, he said, they not only cured the body, but tried to save the soul. I have much plea sure in informing the hon. gentleman (Mr. Ayrton), who said he would not sauction any vote unless some such means were adopted here, that the Admiralty have sanc tioned an allowance of £lOO per annum to each of the ports where hospitals have been established, for chaplains to attend three times a week. The unfortunate patien is are taught domestic duties, such as household work, washing, and ironing, and a large percentage are reclaimed and re turned to their patents or to service. The committee, I think, will be of opinion that no increase on last year's votes is better bestowed than this £1,500. The increase in this vote is owing to the increased cost of provisions, for which the Admiralty are not responsible. The next vote is for the Admiralty, in which thero is the large increase of £3,300. Considering the great increase of work in that department, the only surprise is that the increase should not be greater. The committee will have some idea of the accumulation of work when 1 state that the number of letters sent has increased within the last few years from 30,000 to 75,000. In the comptroller's department the number of letters had increased from 32,823 in 1860 to 69,139 in 1866. In vote 5, for the scientific branch, the only thing to notice is that the school of naval architec ture is flourishing, and that a small increase is asked to increase the number of students from 24 to 30. Vote 6 is for wages in dockyards. On this vote there is a de crease of £1,650 ; though in some small items, as rent, taxes, and police expenditure, there is a small increase. In the number of men employed in the dockyards and factories there is a decrease of 297. In 1866-7 the num ber was 18,618 ; the expense being £1,065,194. The pre sent number is 18,321, who cost £1,064,635. So the saving from this decrease is only £559 ; for though the number of men employed has decreased, the number of men actually on the establishment has in creased. As to the artificers, they are persons who have been apprentices and gone through a period of service ; and Some who have been employed in the dockyards with the prospect of being employed in higher grades. During the official inspection made by the Admiralty they had inter views with deputations from artisans in every branch, urg ing, with much justice, the necessity of an increase in their wages. These representations were made with such firm ness and respect that, if it had been possible, they would have obtained what they asked ; and nothing could be more distressing than to be unable to accede to their demands. But at that time there was great distress in all branches of the shipbuilding trade; and it would have been bad poli tical economy to increase wages when men in abundance 1 ,1 could be engaged at the wages then being paid. The day labourers had, however, received a slight increase, because their pay was too small to enable them to support their families. The increase was ld, and in some cases 2d a day. The increase on this item amounts to £7,708; but it will give the committee an idea how costly any such change must be. The pay of the masters of sea-going boys has also been increased, they being engaged in the conveyance from one dockyard to another of valuable cargoes. In con nection with the yard service, which cost £221,380 this and last year, this question had received attention from the Board of Admiralty; and ho thought there was room for further inquiry. The late First Lord of the Admiralty (Sir J. Pakiugton) agreed to nominate a committee of two gallant officers (Sir Sydney Dacres and Admiral Symonds) and two civilians, to inspect the dockyards with the view of reducing the expenditure under this head, and yet pro moting the advantage of the public service. Com plaints aro made as to the inefficiency of dockyard ship building as carried on under the system of day pay. Sir J. Pakiugton inquired into this during his official tour, with a view to more economy. At Chatham and Pembroke piece-work is carried on up to a certain point, and the last two vessels, both ironclads, the Hercules and the Bellerophon, built there under the orders of the Duke of Somerset, wore so built. There is some hope that the system will be °tidied to repairs and rebuilding. (Hear, hear.) When the present board came into office they were struck by the amount of expenditure upon repairs, and they concluded that vessels unfit for active service should not be repaired or refitted, unless that could be done at very small cost and for temporary service. Consequently while the charge for repairs was £50,000 in excess of the charge f• r building, there is now £60,000 for shipbuilding in excess over repairs. (Hear.) As to the reserve, Sir J. Pakington said last year there.was difficulty in getting the necessary release of small vessels on foreign stations. There are now seven vessels available for this purpose, including two frigates, the Mersey and the Liffey, two iron vessels, and two sloops. There is the greatest demand for reliefs, the commodore in command of the African squadron being specially urgent, because ho is obliged to keep his vessels on the coast, and cannot scud to st. Helena or Ascension ; THE SUN, LONDON, FIIIIMY EVENING, AIARCH 15, 1867, and the Admiral in command on the Pacific station being similarly desirous of obtaining vessels. It is important that the committee, the House of Commons, and the country should consider what is the absolute necessity of keeping up these large squadrons in all parts of the world- (hear, hear)—squadrons of small ships, which on the approach of any large ship belonging to an enemy would have to " cut and run." (Hear, hear.) No officer dare at present take upon himself, in the face of the policy of non-intervention, demand reparation of any act done against us until he receive the opinion of the authorities at home. He should hail with delight a decision to modify or altogether remove the African squadron, if the present Government or its successors should think that course consistent with the interests of humanity and the public service of this country. (Hear, hear.) The slave trade can be kept down by fear of vessels stationed at Gibraltar, without the frightful losses of health and life suffered on the Afri can coast. But the question is for the house to decide. The Lords of the Admiralty had to turn their attention to the question what class of ships it is best to build in our dockyards, and on the whole had found it wise to carry out the opinions of the late Board. The present Board of Ad miralty found three vessels of the Amazon class on the stocks. One had been an unfortunate vessel ; but although she came to an untimely end through the neglect of the officer in charge, that is no reason why a very useful class of vessels, superseding the old first-class despatch boats, should be discarded. The Roebuck class never exceeded 11 knots, but the vessels launched last year have realised 12.8 and 12.4 knots. Instead of carrying 68-pounders, they carry two 61 rifle guns and two 64-pounders. The Admi ralty ordered four additional vessels of this class to be laid down. The next class is very dear to all admirals, officers, officers, and sailors of the navy. These vessels are intended to replace the old paddlewheel steamers. Two of them will be completed, of about 1,460 tons, and with admirable ac commodation for taking small numbers of troops, supernu meraries, and stores. The next work to be done was to follow the late board in laying down some gunboats, which will be of 678 tons, and will carry one 61-ton rifle gun and two 40-pounders. They are built of wood, and have double screws, enabling them to turn with great facility. They are of light draught, and adapted for going up rivers and creeks. They are expected to go at 11 knots, which is at least two knots in excess of the speed of the class they supersede. Ten of these vessels have been laid down. The next class is intended for the suppression of Chinese piracy. The Chinese squadron consists of 36 vessels, and of these about 17 aro gunboats, built for the Cri mean war. They are of wood, and are rotting away much faster than was anticipated ; and the Admiralty have been obliged to get forward a class of ves sels to take their place. These will be of 430 tons, built of composite iron frames, with wood flanking. They will be of light draught, and of 120 horse power. The engines will be taken from the old gunboats. Two gunboats ordered by the late board will be completed at Hasler, and the Hercules and Monarch at Chatham will be finished. During the official inspection at Pembroke and Chatham the board found two small wooden vessels on the stocks, far advanced, belonging to a class which was tried and found wanting. One of them, the Newport, of 450 tons, was ordered to be completed as a surveying vessel. £5,618 had been spent on her, and the total estimate to finish her will be £13,000. The other vessel, the 3lyr midon,was of 645 tons, and .£14,682 had been spent on her, and the estimates to complete her are £27,320. There aro in three of the dockyards vessels laid down as lino of battle ships, but when the change came over the spirit of modem warfare the shipwrights were taken to other work. One of these, the Repulse, has cost £61,711, and if broken up she would be a loss of £27,500. Instead, therefore, of breaking her up, it had been decided to finish her as an armour-plated ship of the improved Zealous class. The general result of the proposed operations of the year will be the construction of 22,945 tons of shipping in the docks ; and the most ardent critic of the Admiralty will not be able to say, if the programme is carried out, that the dockyards do not turn out w ork of service to the country. On vote 10, section 1, there is an increase of £17,000 for paint, materials, capstans, dtc. Ther e is a reduction of £lOO,OOO for coals, on account of the Indian Government having undertaken to pay for the fuel consumed in its service. There is also a great reduction in the stock of timb3r. In the " wooden-wall" period the stock was 60,000 loads, but under the new sys tem a smaller quantity will suffice,, and a reduction of £147,990 has been made. But there is an increase of £522,550 for iron shipbuilding. But for this increase the estimates would have been almost identical with those of last year. A sum of £83,355 has gone for the cupola ship Captain, now being built by the hon. member for Birken head (Mr. Laird). She was designed by Captain Coles, who was allowed to choose his own tonnage, specifications, and builder, in order that his system might have a fair trial. (Hear.) The Board of Admiralty were from the first most anxious to give not only an impartial, but almost a favourable consideration to the plans of Captain Cols. There is a sum of £344,350 for armour-plated iron ships. It may be asked, what is the necessity for building more iron-plated vessels ? He was opposed to drawing numeri cal comparisons between the forces of this country and the forces of countries who are our allies and near neighbours, for such comparisons are liable to give pain, and to convey to this country a most fallacious idea of the strength of other countries. Still, it is necessary to refer to the French fleet, to show what a first-class power, which does not pro fess to be a purely maritime power, thinks it right and safe in the present day to keep up, without i n any way b e i ng considered to be menacing the peace of Europe. France has 43 ironclad vessels, of which 16 are first class. But four or five of them, after going through a severe storm, re turned to port like " crippled ducks," and more recently one of them has been shipwrecked. The others are to be reserved for harbour defence. Them are four first-class ironclads in addition. Of the second class, one is built and seven aro building; of the third class they have 12, many of which are of an indifferent character. The Imperial Govern ment has followed the example of the American Govern ment, and recently laid down four large wooden frigates, intended to possess great speed and carry heavy arms, to defend the commerce of France or to harass the commerce of an enemy in case of war. The total number of ships in the French nav y i s 365 ; in the Spanish, 95 : Austrian, siane,B2; Russian, 218 ;. and Americ 231. the American, one word up o n there And por with t"ot Italian, erae l pct to Minister of Marin e t o C ongress. Th at report enters most fully into the state of the American navy; but the most interesting portion of it is that from which it appears that the American Government have not die slightest intention of building any more iron-clads. They intend to rely solely on turretted monitors for the wooden frigates for and harassing the defence r p o o f s t e h o e f i r p c r o o a t s e t c s t , n a n g d t h up e ioru own,large commerce of an enemy. Mr. SHAW LEFEVRE—They will be 3,000 tons. Lord 11. LENNOX—Yes, and more. There was a pre vailing idea that our coast defences were bare, and that it would be advisable to build some of these turretted moni tors in the same way as the Americans. But I venture to think that is the very last class of ships that we aro most in need of. In the first place, I hope and believe that there is scarcely any event that can be more improbable than an invasion of our shores ; and in the next place, when 1 re member what the Americans were able to do in the course of a very few months, I feel confident that the spirit of Englishmen, aided by the private yards at our disposal, will be able to effect as much. (Hear, hear.) Therefore 1 think that that is a class of ships which of all others may be the most distantly postponed. I may then be asked, why make ironclads at all ? But my answer to that is, that England ought not to stand still while all other Powers great and small, aro progressing in the science of arms. In the year 1860-61 a sum of £582,000 was taken for ironclads ; in 1861-62, £865,000 ; in 1862-63, £966,000 ; in 1863-64, £630,000; in 1864-65, £638,000 ; in 1865-66, £120,000 (not spent); and last. year nothing was asked for on ac count of this vote. Therefore, I think, if any board were justified in coming to Parliament and asking for a vote on that head, we:were. The French Government make no un usual effort. Their estimates aro not unusually largo, but they go on year by year doing little by little, and the con sequence is that in the end they have a great show. I only wish that had been the policy of the English Government, and I am sure that it is the soundest. The Admiralty having come to the conclusion that ships wore to be built, we had next to decide upon the class and description. We found that we had 18 first-class ironclads, but that of those four, including the Warrior, Black Prince, and Defence, were not perfect specimens. We found that in the second class we had only three ships afloat and one building, and that was the class in which we most needed an increase. Then came the qu es ti on o f pattern , an d than again rose the difficulty of gettin g a comparat i ve l y sma ll sea-going turret ship. Upon that Ad m i ra l R o bi nson b r ought to us a design by Mr. Heed for su c h a s hi p, and we adopted it. Her ton nage will be 3,774 1 9-64ths, her horse power 800, draught of water forward, 21ft. 6in., and aft, 26ft. 6in.; her speed, 13k knots an hour ; and her complement, 450 men. She will be covered with armour plates 8 inches, except at the ex tremities, which will be 6 inches ; she will have a teakback of 10 inches, and a skin of 11 inch ; the height of the port sides on the main deck will be 10 feet out of the water, and of the upper dock 14 feet. She will carry on her main deck an armament of six guns of 12 tons each, with two 68- pounders, one fore and one aft, as bow guns ; but her pe culiar characteristic will be the semi-turrets, within which the twelve ton guns will be placed. The weight of her hull will be 2,704 tons, of her armour 850 tons, and of backing 140 tons. We propose to build two vessels of the second class, and two gunboats on the same plan and principle as those already in the dockyards; and there is further an idea of building another of those ships which were laid down by the late Admiralty, and which are chiefly intended to protect or to harass the commerce of an enemy. She will, however, have this possible objection in the eyes of Englishmen ; she will be so fast that she will never get within the range of an enemy's guns. (Laugh ter.) But it may be said, when speaking of our coast de fences, why go to the expense of building new ships? why not cut down the wooden ships in your dockyards ? Un fortunately the reason is that the board do not believe that the plan of Mr. Henwood would give either good or cheap ships. Mr. Henwood is no doubt one of the most eminent shipbuilders in the country, but ho has had no experience in constructing men-of-war, and has overlooked the fact that the ships with which he proposes to deal have been already deteriorated by conversion from kiiiipg to screw ships. The result of his plan will be best shown by a com parison between the Victoria, if cut down, and the Royal Sovereign. In such an event the excess of weight in the case of the Victoria would be 3,449 tons ; but the most remarkable point would be this, that while the Royal Sove reign has a deck of 7 feet 21 inches, the Victoria would have a deck of only 2 feet 21 inches out of water. This shows thatthe Admiralty were fully justified in hesitating before they proceeded to cut down their line-of-battle ships. (Hear, hear.) What, then, is to be done with these wooden ships ? There are no loss than 55 of them in reserve in the Medway and other places ; they cost £8,250,000; to repair them would require £1,250,000 ; and the total annual expenditure on account of them is £117,260. (Hear, hear.) Impressed with that feeling, and knowing that some of them never could, by any possible conversion, be made serviceable to the country, my right hon. friend, now Secretary for War, decided that the worst of them should be sold by auction. (Hear, hear.) Thirteen of them accordingly have been sold, and within the financial year £8 ,000 will be paid into the Treasury ou account of them. (Hear, hear.) The only other vote the noble lord, in conclusion, said he had to refer to, was vote 11, re lating to works. Thisyear there was an excess over last year of £42,771, principally on account of the dock exten sion and other works at Chatham and Portsmouth. The hon. member for Pontefract had called attention to the item of £450,000, for extra payments and receipts. This amount was made up of £150,000 for the sale of timber which was deteriorating in the dockyards ; £85,000 for the sale of ships ; and £lOO,OOO for the iron ballast employed in paving the dockyards. He had the authority of Messrs. Ryland for estimating the "pigs" at £lOO,OOO. Arrange ments had been made for giving the Messrs. Ryland fifty tons for the purpose of testing the market value, but there was no doubt that the estimated sum of £lOO,OOO would be realised. He believed there were eight or ten other ships which might also be sold with advantage to the country. He had now brought his statement to a close. He was afraid he was not sufficiently clear, but as far as he could he gave all the information in his power. He hoped the committee would accept the estimates. They were the lowest the Government could propose. If they were accepted, England might, as in times past, rely upon her navy as the right arm of her strength in the hour of danger. (Cheers.) The vote for 67,300 men and boys, including 16,200 marines, having been put from the chair, Mr. GLADSTONE said he only gave expression to the general feeling of the committee when he congratulated the noble lord upon the manner he had discharged his duty. The noble lord might rest assured it was not to him person ally he raised the objection at an earlier period of the evening. There were many matters in the estimates which directly challenged discussion, and as the noble lord was not the representative of the Board of Admiralty in Parliament, such discussion could not take place with any effect. There were some points in the noble lord's speech which made him regret that ho did not occupy a more prominent position. The noble lord alluded to tho building of gun boats, the meaning of which was that this class of vessel would be scattered all over the world ; but, as they pos sessed no great amount of defence or resistance, in the event of war they would be found to run off or surrender. The amount for those gunboats would also neces sitate a large outlay in the ensuing year. The noble lord had already told the committee he was not re sponsible for the estimates, and to any questions addressed to him he could still return the same answer. The Go vernment were entitled to their opinion, but it was also for the House of Commons to express its opinion with re gard to these gunboats, as they directly told upon the number of men that would be employed to man them all over the world. It was on this account that he hoped the committee would not be asked to agree to the first vote on the present occasion. If the committee asked for fur ther information, the noble lord could say, " I am not here to announce a policy or to give an opinion." If the Go vernment wished to place the noble lord at the head of the department, they would then be ready to show as much courtesy to him as to any of his predecessors. (Hoar, hear.) The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, , with out troubling the house with any reasons, ho thought, upon the whole, it would be advisable not to press the vote that night. If the house pleased they would report progress. (Hear, hear.) According to a telegram he had received, the election of the First Lord of the Admiralty would take place on Tuesday, which, if all went well, would enable him to-take his seat on Wednesday, and proceed with the navy estimates on Thursday. Mr. CHILDERS would be glad to have some more do finite information with regard to the iron ballast. Sir J. HAY said it was impossible to state the amount exactly until they ascertained the result of Messrs. Ryland's experiment upon tho market. There were 36 tons of the pig iron used for paving the dockyards, and the cost of £1 5s per ton for replacing it with granite pavement would have to be deducted from the sum the pig iron brought in the market.' Mr. O'REILLY wished to know the date of the purchase, of the timber now proposed to be sold. Mr. SAMUDA asked if the second-class iron vessels were to be wholly or partially plated; whether the height of eight feet had reference to the pert-sill above water; and whether the guns were to be below deck or to protect the upper deck; and whether there would be ono or more port-holes. Sir J. HAY said the vessels will be entirely armour plated. There will be three or four ports for guns point ing fore and aft, working on pivots, on the main deck. As regards the timber, it is difficult to say when it was all purchased. It was in the years 1859-60 and 1860-61 when the great increase took place. The demands of the service caused three years' supply to be exhausted in one, the sup ply being 60,000 loads annually; but in 1862 we changed the system of wooden ships for iron. There are now 101,000 loads in the yards. About 25,000 will be sufficient this year, and, looking to the future, from 18,000 to 20,000; so that 65,000 will be enough for us to retain. From 35,000 to 40,000 may therefore be sold. Mr. Alderman LUSK said the noble lord asked himself why we should build more ironclads of the first class, but the answer did not appear clear. Why should we do so in the present circumstances of the country ? _ Sir J. HAY—There is no proposal before the house. It is not now proposed to build any. Mr. Alderman LUBK only wanted to know the answer which the noble lord gave to his own question. (A laugh.) -- - Sir J. HAY—It was not put as a question of policy. There is no other proposal for building than the ono sub mitted by the Secretary to the Admiralty. Mr. H. SEYMOUR said the question of the ironclads was a most important one, as tending to economise our military establishments at distant settlements. Why should wo not follow the plan adopted at Victoria, and by employ ing an ironclad for such places as Singapore and Hong Kong, do with a smaller proportion of soldiers? An impor tant suggestion was thrown out by the Secretary of the Admiralty with respect to our squadrons in various plrts of the world. Why might not the African squadron be wholly dispensed with ? It was satisfactory to hear such a statement from a member of the Government. Tho noble lord shakos his head; but possibly the speech was a feeler to ascertain the opinion of the house. Is it the intention of the Government to propose any reduction of these squad rons? and if not, will any distinct motion on the subject receive their support? Sir &E. PETO said the discussion of a policy without the presence of those to direct it was a discussion without aim, and he moved that progress be reported. (Hear, hear.) The CHAIRMAN then reported progress, and obtained leave to sit again. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL brought in throe bills for the amendment of the Law of Bankruptcy, prefacing his explanation of them by an elaborate review of modern legislation on this subject, down to Lord Westbury's Act of 18G1, which he remarked had not in all points worked well, the chief complaint against it being that it interfered too much with creditors, and did not leave them sufficiently at liberty to manage the assets of an estate among them selves. He proposed, therefore, to adopt unreservedly the recommendation of Mr. Moffatt's Committee, and to allow creditors to appoint a trustee for the management of an estate ; and, to provide for those numerous cases in which the creditors were supine, there would be provisional trustees (the Registrars of the County Court), who would also have vested in them all estates between the adjudica tion and the appointment of the trustees by the creditors. He proposed, also, to abolish imprisonment for debt, except in certain cases of fraud, and to extend the Small Debts Act to sums of ..£3O. Debts would be proved and divi dends declared before the trustees, with an appeal where necessary; the adjudications would be made before the Registrars, and the proof of disputed debts, the final examination and discharge of debtors, would be the functions of the legal tribunal, which he proposed should be the County Courts, with an appeal to the Lords Justices. On the mode of making a man bankrupt on his own motion, be proposed that a debtor should petition the Court, upon which the creditors should be called together and decide whether he should be made bankrupt; the arrangement clauses would be left undisturbed, with this addition, that a debtor must file a deed in the court describ ing the amount of his debts, the names of his creditors, and his assets, and if it should be assented to by a majority of his creditors representing three-fourths of his estate, the Court should have power, after it had nmained three mouths without being challenged by any of the creditors, to declare it valid. Creditors, however, whose debts were secured would have to deduct the amount of their security before their debt was computed. On the question of dis charge he proposed to follow the principles of the old Insolvent Debtors' Court, and to give the Court discretion to make the future property of a bankrupt liable to a limited extent, unless he had paid a dividend of 10s. in the pound. Mr. GOSCHEN signified a general approval of the bill, which he believed contained the elements for solving many of the difficulties of the subject, though on some points it would require modification. The scheme was criticised, and various suggestions were offered, by Mr. Moffatt, Mr. Ayrton, Mr. Moncreiff, Mr. Fawcett, Mr. Alderman Lusk, :Mr. Vance, and Mr. Nor wood. Tho other business was disposed of, and the House adjourned, SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. TIMES. —lf ever there was a needless and futile discussion in the House of Commons it was that last night on the question whether Lord Henry Lennox, the Secretary to the Admiralty, should be allowed to move the Navy Estimates. The state of things was this. The time had come when these estimates ought to be produced and considered, and there was the more reason for avoiding delay as everybody is aware that after next Monday the Reform Bill will occupy all the time on this side of Easter. Now, the late First Lord of the Admiralty having accepted the War-office, and being succeeded by Mr. Corry, it happened that last night neither of these gentlemen had a seat in the House. Mr. Corry, having been eight years away from the Admiralty, might be excused from bearing a part in the debate, if even be had been re-elected ; he certainly could not be accurately informed of the details of what has been done during the time the present Government has been in office, and of the arguments by which they justify their present Esti mates. On the other hand, Sir John Pakington, if he had a seat in the House, might probably be objected to, as General Peel was objected to the other night, on the ground that he is no longer the responsible Minister, but only an amateur giving a voluntary assistance to a department of which he is not the Head. Under these circumstances the Government took the perfectly reasonable course of committing the annual naval statement to the Secretary of the Admiralty, who is necessarily acquainted with all that has been done, and is admitted to be perfectly competent to deal with the subject. The Secretary of the Admiralty is the recognised representative of the department in the absence of the First Lord. He is generally supposed to be more thoroughly acquainted with the details of business than the First Lord himself, and yet before Lord Henry Lennox could rise to make his statement Mr. Gladstone objected to the proceedings. Prefacing his remarks with the ob servation that the discussion was this year of unusual importance, which probably has been said every year within living memory, he objected that there was in the house of Commons neither the Minister under whose responsibility these propositions were prepared, nor the Minister under whose responsi bility they were to be carried into effect. For this reason he demanded that the subject should be put off till the middle of next week. We cannot but be astonished at such an objection from the leader of the House under the late Government. It is but the other day the House had to complain that the very thing which the present Government is blamed for doing once, on absolute necessity, was done for several years together by . their predecessors. In Lord Palmerston's Administration who was the First Lord of the Admiralty ? The D uke of Somer set, who sits in the House of Lords. Who was the Secretary of War ? First Lord Panmure, then Lord De Grey, both in the House of Lords, and only in later years Lord Hartington. These two great Departments, which administer the mass of the national expenditure, were represented in the House of Commons only by Secretaries. in the empyrean of the Upper House sat the First Lord at the time when the fiercest storms raged about the Secretary below on questions of expenditure, on the qualities of iron plating, on turret-ships and gun boats, on the supply of seamen or the transport of troops. During the last few years we have made the greatest revolution ever effected in our Navy. The cost has been enormously increased ; the size of vessels has been magnified till frigates and even corvettes vie with the line-of-battle ships of only a few years since. Shape has not been less revo lutionised than dimension ; scarcely has oneinven tion established itself in public or official favour than it is superseded by another, and people sus pect that the money spent on the last irresistible machine of war has been purely wasted. At such a time, if ever, the First Lord, as well as the Secretary for War, ought to have been in the House of Par liament, which represents the tax-paying public, and controls, or aught to control, the national ex penditure. The late Government, amid she mur murs even of its own followers, denied this claim, and year after year the Commons had no informa tion save from Secretaries, who, however able and painstaking, could not speak with authority, could propose nothing that had not been sanctioned in another place, could assent to nothing without a few days' interval to advise with their superiors, who, iu short, were entirely void of that power and that responsibility the absence of which Mr. Glad stone will not excuse for a single day. The present Government have paid the House of Commons the compliment of placing it in the Ministers who are at the head of both the Army and Navy. This, we hink, ought always to be done. The cost of war like armaments is immense and increasing. There is a painful distrust of the whole, system of both Departments in the mind of the nation. As soon as the excitement about Reform is over, and the coun try turns again to details of practical administra tion, there will be a more searching inquiry than ever into the traditions by which costly squadrons are kept cruising at the other side of the world, and regiments doing duty in distant colonies which have no foe to fear. The Conservatives have shown that they recognise the importance of these matters by giving the representation of the two Departments to members of the House of Commons. It is there fore, all the more ungracious to make much of the temporary absence of the First Lord, and to wish to silence the Secretary, especially since it is certain that Mr. Corry can hardly make himself master of what has been lately done so as to speak with autho rity in the forthcoming debate. IVe cannot conceive that any inconvenience would have resulted from debating in the usual manner, as if Lord Clarence Paget, instead of his nephew, who had just sat down. Pose.—lt is not an enviable condition of mind that would be disposed to cavil at the determination of the French Government to confer on M. de La roartine a substantial mark of the national gratitude for important services rendered to his country, as well as of national respect and even admiration for his brilliant literary genius. It is a fact beyond dis pute that, through the vicissitudes of a long career, M. de Lamartine, whether as an author, an orator, a poet, or a statesman, has shown an ability of which any country might be justly proud in one of her sons. The literary and public career of M. de Lamartine extend over a period equal to the term of many a busy life, and date from more than half a century ago. Even since he retired from politics, near 17 years ago , when he had attained th e age o f 60, he has produced four great historical works which alone would have sufficed to establish an or dinary reputation. But though his old age has been occupied with prose, his youth was devoted to poetry, and it was his " Meditations Poetiques," which, published near 50 years ago, first rendered him famous, even at a time when there were far greater poets in the world as competitors than any we have seen since they ceased to write. M. Marie Louis Alphonse Prat was born in the year 1790, at Macon. The name of Lamartine he derived from a relation—an uncle on the mother's side—from whom he inherited a large property. Though his father was an officer in the army he does not appear to have entered the service, which in those days attracted and absorbed almost all the energy, am bition, and genius of France—the army being a thoroughly national one, in which any man co uld rise-from the ranks by dint of sheer merit to the highest rank and dignity in the State. Political considerations may probably have had something to do with this. It is not a little singular that the ma ture fecundity of M. de Lamartine's literary genius in his old age forms a somewhat striking contrast with the absence of precocity in youth. Although his working life has ranged over nearly half a century, it was not till he was near 30 years old that he began to write. It was during M. de Lamartine's second tour in Italy, about 1818, that he began to compose his first poetical work, which was published a couple of years later. It may be almost said of him as was said of his greatest poetical contemporary, that he awoke one morning and found himself famous. He subsequently obtained an appointment as Attache to the French Embassy at Florence, where ho re sided for some time, after which he was removed to London in the capacity of Secretary to the Ambas sador at the Court of St. James. It was while re sident in London that he married an English lady, named Birch whose death, four years ago, cast a gloom over his declining years, and greatly tended to increase the sufferings which his own serious in disposition entailed upon him. As his second work, the " Harmonies Poetiques," was not published until an interval of nine years had elapsed after the appearance of the first, it will be seen that not only did he begin to write later in life than most authors, especially poets, but that his productions did not come forth with anything like the frequency they have done of late. From London M. de Lamartine proceeded to Florence, this time as Charge d'Affaires, and about 1829 he was chosen a member of the French Academy. His subsequent diplomatic ser vices were rendered as Minister Plenipotentiary to Greece, and as Minister for Foreign Affairs during • the short interval which he held that office under the revolutionary Government of 1848. It was in deed the nart he took at that crisis which consti tutes the most important of his public services in maintaining the cause of order. That he was able to do this was chiefly owing to the great powers he had acquired as an orator, and to the influence which the liberal views he had professed gave him among the people. It was due to him that the na tional tricolour was preserved as the flag of France instead of the red flag of the Social and Democratic Republic. We have now reached the most itnpor taut part of his public career, and it is requisite to r r' review the preceding 20 years in order to trace his progre , s as a statesman. After the revolution of July M. de Lamartine had gone to travel in he East, and it was during his absence that he was elected deputy for the Department du Nord. On the intelligence reaching him at Jerusalem he immediately set out for France to fulfil his duties in the Chamber, and soon afterwards he published an account of his travels, a work which has been universally read and admired. Family traditions appear to have moulded his earlier political views. He gave his support to M. G-uizot, but his proclivities seemed to develops rapidly in a more liberal direction. Though he found time for the production of two more poems, " Jocelyn " and " La Chute d'Ange," published between 1834 and and 1839, he seems to have been chiefly devoting his leisure during this period to the composition of one of the most famous political and historical books which has appeared-- namely the " llistoire des Giroudins," published in 1847, the year before the last revolution, and per haps in some respects the precursor of it. Not that we mean that, according to the vulgar n otion, such a book and such an event stand in the relation of cause and effect. What we mean is that this book may be looked upon as a sort of exposition of the feelings and opinions then prevalent in the minds of the people. The work just named was the work at once of a poet, an historian, a statesman, an orator ; and it only required such circumsta nces as those which subsequently occurred to bring its author conspicuously to the front of affairs as the ruling spirit of the hour. But these circumsta nces were transitory and evanescent, and it was but for an hour that Lamartine was the ruling s pirit. During that brief but terrible crisis, however , lie certainly did the State some good service. Af ter his " three months in power," which he has him self described, explained, and defended, his pol itical career may be said to have closed ; not so, howe ve r his literary career. His " History of Turk e y , his " Biographies of Celebrated Characters , " his " History of the Restoration," and his " History of the Constituent Assembly," have been given to the world since his retirement from public life. M. de Lamartine has certainly enriched the literature of his country by many standardworks which will live, and, in the character of author alone, deserves well of the French nation. The services of a statesman are not always to be estimated by their length. any more than those of any author, and while M. du Lamartine's works, both in poetry and prose, are of considerable magnitude, and their exce llence is . equal to their voluminousness, his services as real chief of the State, at a scrisis of almost unex ampled difficulty and danger, were, on the other hand, as vital and important as they were brief. It is hardly too much to say that at that critic al juncture everything depended on one man, and It his nerves had faltered, or his patriotism been less firm and noble, untold disasters might have been precipitated that would have entailed social dissol borne tion and political chaos for long years to come. -11-0 parliamentary grant of £16,000 to such a man, orn down with age and infirmity and domestic afflictio, is what the moral sense of the world will app It is, as the bill which makes this grant recites, wrathy of France to honour the celebrity of 1g.. , " Lamartine by such an act of munificence. The CTO- veernment, says the bill, desires to intervene dul l his lifetime, to give him striking testimony in respec._ of his services to his country, whose best interei v 5 r st he has defended with courage and success. T he ts of Aug. 22, 1790, says that every citizen who na served, defended, illustrated, or enlightened France, or who has given a great example of devot edness, to the public good, has a right to the gratitude of the nation ; and, under eith e r of the definitions ecl this ordinance, or all of them taken together, ut a g e° , r title to a national benefaction must be made oA ° M. de Lamartine. COUNTRY MARKETS. MAN C lIE S TER--THURSDAY. We have again to report a very inactive trade sinc e , b , ° r ur last report, but with a firmer tone on the part o f lig; There was a fair attendance at our market this morn With a better inquiry for wheat than of late, picked sanMer of both English and foreign brought an advance of ls Pe e qr., while other sorts were steady. Flour was held war • d O' s firmly, but only a limited demand was experience • and oatmeal were without material change. Beans were the turn in favour of sellers. Indian corn wa s fully is P er qr. higher. • BIRMINGIIAM—THURSDAY. held During the present week English wheat has been -- for more money, which buyers would not submit to.: Foreign wheat and all spring corn Nom inall y unalterencid At this day's market there was a fair supply of wheAtt fine samples of English were is, and foreign Gil per,,T; dearer. Barley slow, and tending downwards• maintained their value. Beans quite as dear. .LB neglected. BURY ST. EDMUNDS —WEDNESDAY. There was a good show of farmers' wheat at this m arket to-day, and millers to get a supply had to pay an advanc o of fully is per qr. on last week's prices. There was only a nominal trade doing in malting barley, and sellers N: 701.° compelled to take less money. The value of all other kind s of grain was unaltered. BRISTOL—THURSDAY. Average prices. Wheat, 57s Od I Oats, 3os 9d Barley, 39s 6d Beaus 43s 5d e xtra Town-made flour sells as follows :—White, 548 Od; superfine, 52s Od ; superfine, 50s Od ; fine, 48s (hi. EDINBURGII—WEDNESDAY. Wheat on the top, is Od up average, is 2d 1 2 1 3 . Barley on the top, 2s Od up average, Os ld down. Oats on the top, 2s Od up average, Os 2d down . Beans on the top, 2s Od up ...average, 2' Od d °wil • Total supply and sales. 2 Wheat Oats 1692972 q q r r s s ............ ssoolldd , 5 5 Barley Beans 2 4 7 2 q q r r s s ........................ s s o o l l d 1 d 13 , 8 93 GL AS GO W—WEDNEsDAY. The foreign arrivals consisted of 12,907 qrs. of what , 1,903 qrs. of barley, 1 100 qrs. of oats, 83 qrs. of beans, 6 1 qrs. of peas, 960 qrs. ' of Indian corn, and 1,080 sacks o flour. Wheat and flour were in better demand during th e week. To-day's market was well attended. Wheat un proved 3d to 6d per 2401 b. - fl o ur made full pric es ; barley, beans, and peas unaltered ;' heavy oa ts scarce, and t he turn . dearer ; secondary unchanged ; oa tmeal, 3d to 6d, and Indian corn, 6d higher per 280Ib. Foreign Mail Packet List. MAILS DUE. lustralia and New Zealand, via Southampton Mar. 22. Ditto, via Marseilles ................ .. Mar. 16. Brazil and Cape Verde. by British packet. •• April 7. Mar. 22 Ditto, by French packet .......... Cape of Good Hope, Asoens ion, and St. Helena Mar. 30 OAlia., Penang , a nd Singapore. v ia Southampton Mar. 22. .. .• Mar. 16 Ditto, via Mars eilles ......... Falkland Islands Gibraltar, via Southampton Mar. 15. India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton At ar. 15 Mar. 1 0 Ditto, via Marseilles In di a (Bombay), via Southampton. M a r. 15. Ditto, via alars eitles ...Mar. 16 Malta, E g ypt, and Aden, via Southampton Mar. i 5. Ditto, via Marseilles Mar. 16 M au ritius, via Southampton Ditto, via Marseilles... Mar. 16 N • ew t Unitedp o i u nt Ditto, Stateslba yndp Portugal . Bri tish packet 3lar. 3 . -- ....... • • • Ditto, by United States packet, via Southamp ranivdatel3:hitiipalitoNoLritshboAninerica:L...............Mparrill37.. ton Ditto, via Cork Ditto, by Canadian packet, via Londonderry gar. 15. West Indies and Pacific (except Bahamas and ii ondural) gar •• ............. • id. Baha., via. New Y ork. ............. . ... ......... . Apr il 4 rm.. Cuba aid Mexico .. ......................... April I r . 13. Bermuda, via H " Halifax . ............... 11 est Coakt of Africa, Madeira, and Tenerifre ...• April 3. [ADVERTISEMENT. I—Holloway's1—Holloway's Pills.—Enjoylueut :4' Lito.—When the blood is pure, its circulation p . orf ect ' 2 S O the nerves in good order, wo are well. These Vilis P"stlth a marvellous power in securing those great secrets olds,nd by purifying, regulating, and strengthening flu and solids. Holloway's Pills can be confiden tl y recommen N'0,... to all persons suffering from disordered di g estion or acct h ay ck can the acidity by nervous fancies or neuralgic pain s. T u i acidity or heartburn, dispel sick-headache, qe action of the liver, and act as alteratives and gentle hoot rionts. The weak and delicate may take them, wallow. fear. Holloway's Pills are eminently serviceable to.funo, lids of irritable constitutions, as they raise the saw, r!... every organ to its natural standard, and universally uu cise a calming and sedative influence. ------rf---'-----....'------- Births. CUBITT—On the 14th inst., at 17, Prince's -gate, the Wit° of George Cubitt, Esq., M.l'., of a son. CLARKE — On tho 14th inst. { C. 11. St. John's-fork-r°3d' liaverstock-hill, the wife (.;f C. 11. Clarke, Esq., I '' S * l" of a daughter. Marriages. D EANS -3PLEAY—On the 12th inst. , at Edinburter ab, of 11.-• 1'0;r D. Deans, Esq., to Louisa M en ie, eldest da u g h M'Leay, Esq., It.A.S. . lIENSLEY —STANLEY—On the 14th inst., at Trinity Chtlrebt.: Itrompton, Botert M. Hensley, of Stanhope "Villa, -IT r "to noy, youngest son of the late Lewis Hensley, --sql,,, Eintna Amelia, daughter of the late Win. H. Stau'' ; ' Esq., of Southampton. Deaths. GOLDEN—On the 11th inst., a t Saxon-street. Lincoln' Major Golden, Adjutant Ist Bat. L.R.V., aged 42. th, GRANT—On tho 12th inst., at G r and-Parade, Por tsmou Wm. Grant, Esq., banker, aged 67. GnowsE —At Hastings, Ro bert Growse, Esq., many Yea r° Town Clerk and Coroner of the borough, a ged 39. HouoirroN—On the 14th inst., at 33, Gordon-sqare, IL J• Houghton, Esq., aged 46. Loudon : Printed sad Published by W EL LIAM AN'..,itEW.O. of No. 112, Strand, Printer at TUE SUN !):rile, No. 112 i Strand. in the Pr eotact of the Savoy, in the COURtY Q Much 15, 150.