The Sun. — London, England, 1855-02-24 00:00:00

ite „o‘ ma d ' on Lord • o Aberdeen lived t 0 b° colleague, the 00 I d the thful 5 0 o b ject s b a t bad for its..oon.ip N o w, Again, tha t ' l ien d s ; but as ,verity lefirS ;hose prejudices chi 00 0 roan, not so i:fOOJl4 as from his live, but his "'', - e otio r he grateful recoallito4 Sir, I en : °(1 1 s so insolenia ;t,rit), uavo been-00, alp:0:01 ouse proPe rit ßy Liberal Par t t'poll egt 'lo ce ll o r of t he . 0 of s se li n g by a,„,,,1 °15 0 0 00 0 i purged the, uv a , e re,i t an d those of 70h00e1;64 Ldulgence onally ente r bot o *very Man,",000,) herdeen. 1 ,70 1 r part, for to;„ - D eoi,,"0/ on. Iliais re ti ` ,. iii 1. " of t i ga te the Are ts retired w i o f o e . r p'e o half-a-eentul tor / me the mer e s o o t iS hat 'the oceast, II are d to al l I fr , o ° o fe l r• Arm as ever ono for i ;,e anking Personaliv, al' ll.- ce pIP 4w.d. house ' • se nt ' e th a t G0'0% 0 ,0' 4 0 ifficultY , •• ,(t '„ o ritl e j before D°°.o .109 to-night °, 1 . 1 b , 11, emar k the" toe It't Lt who hs d l f * ith„ d f°l ' tt°l bed it h et ° .fien;ity doctrit, v ep t:; retaint(;, ob°lobor 5 5, and a' the 11 10 1 r ;ording t ° foes '4 ll, sir, I e ° , ° 0 09 1 '00"; Intertain rootaeotl if I nia/ Polo` e 0.4 =mead to s countrl, riding at i t a ' teat i 9 i fei ged his . 1 ~o e, glutted ° ir P,F o rt r 4 !man, that sir dserter. ,l'ciselP/, pplied thal, Inture to I°.;bt.P.;fr on by ns/ 2 ;1,44 well front, e 01 4, say the 4 ° 4 (4 t of one e'•00 know that t°,06,., rr i v e at co mba t I am Or!, b iee,tty , eminent ao",. ca le.ll because 0 0 ', of , o tt ne. You t the he ad " - r od dil e we have tOO t to rePea fj;is7cto.i., uu the 290 ° . pro) r ye enounce hie otplio; great O f f fro,o o j r ; o ' violentliv it jog OF. occasion to t 0 e it t that, nor 45,011I :cable pre t iroes to #1 or.) But ili„etv ;erday-. 1 toca h eatisfaction.,,,eo t to 4,,is cto ;c3oot 11115 htose wb ►0,6140 'connt ;# precede nt 0 .0 The hononraourte na °l° '5 r 2, ca lioee 1 mJ mdemnation• the 'r uiry—namell will l ea d to ,n 1 ,, , i 0c 0r., d disaster , sb"; Is it' an d cheers,:i c,.ntempate °` nd usefuln ,te ese words .1.044"1 part, and °,,roofie°,l:, ice of the i7lll - the led ollieo to elt ° .ounced. fot„0: it war Pa i ld ofV, oat in A Pe," oobt ~ ali-ji; part frorn ont the ar n tlierel",; associate t , fe • s 0 ° 1 -1 10 ose pato o.l‘ of P ° fri t! course t ile t . r°Pra t :te e t' ? 4 '''‘ at any , e po 00 0, 4 . m not oblattiod and far-Yooe° (1/1 onvictiono force f laq,loitr,df) nu of the eo'-►oj use strictlyes 00,;, b Doug het"o;ofe„°elle rice thst 0P0O,:r1. ruisunder6,6 to, 4 ) in referen°,o' nbor for se",,(l: to his oP°eo,g Of /of the moif'„oel,ol4os toned wi th : el l ' if , 0 1 ,unded te-ije correctly',..o 0044 eh to ivol t . ll f l i 100 ° ,1 ° secondlY, itbe u that i f 1,5 ,0 5 5 0 t of oe $l ,l a_ ile a c i on, i ° t°ooo` P ,0 f' t been re,°„, o ati , ,„ correc': tooeratr, od his o°,, pot differeue-;ot• , !• f. grelee 1,,,, are not . 0 t We are Jes of 0 trot sense ' Jell, t o , o that " t ' o o ho it IS, Oli o [rable and r 9 r re is O f f t he state ° t t! t . spoo t o r es 1 ,11 4 artineat‘i e re des ire ° W ig r es ti l , n inciiii""Je CP 'l ir „, ir ioo t he volve I ie the t e•oj o rs"/ o f 0 1 5 thooe f , tte° state °oo3°lleo„%ill'‘ to t t h° 0 °l' red o a t h° yet 11 40 0 1 ,tot to • ~el ` • „ao- _„oe pc , the teov tir et coo°oo o rO e to a' s 5011 Oof e re t tei f the ftY of o.thistl bet ,0 feel e til V t to i t ot 6c ice ,t Of 4 0 ; 0 4 41 01, .! re n ot beT r oin ip tiring ,00, ta ssoro, o f oo 1,16 01 5 , icable rf ulll le t 00: 414 bilf° t i 1401 Joh ^-, re voi, 00,041 a to Or o 0 0 , j a ; . 00 tlei °8 ) ,050 1) ,.'to rJ Le he G° ba t the pe t ", mate/4.5 fo r e F.O the i te"r it ' l` 4 i t that I°Ua sh°, 4o t 1 0 , T s tha t 1" rit onectiou.,oo to, cl'o,! cot be re g :t, V s r f to _ o f l o co tae ocitene°--b- I b e v ja U oa tt a uboug rest, of Tcleirott" .000 0 a 5, ,( Gevel etto rch ' c ' sl °P e ° °l lo e io‘ l Iketiog ' , e t _ s e• •un t ` 0 ° C r , ' stioli ° the sti„ie J l/ i tigat e o e l state the fOi to Pr. , ts ° own c The b to etie ho use, ori pso di e U e p the su, b ore ' o ce' sod. in iog e on .oec t tion, o el o .ry 50,0311ef.°1ber to e s Of Woe 11 1 , OdOg-hadtoblit'l°oo)o,4C. at peiled War D00..01.,, o r fo or a t'" . r o f escribea .A.A*11,116. n• ciiSAPPe!,%-0 so , 4 °' to e;r Lisboa vi;o11070c1° 1 not 1°0;0410 aftir La gosfeo o6 ,r e oi. bO7-0,0 , tbo of ? aaot tioo Pt , 0,1 obligs., 1509 ooria %nt of office you may deal with at since. (Hear.) examine into them with a view to calling to who are in command in the Crimea, I protest ieel against taking such a course. (Hear.) If, h and, your object is not at present to call to ac those Persons, but to reserve to yourselves the ig them to account at the proper time if you real object you ought now to consider is, not 'r that man in the Crimea may have been to iply and solely in what mode remedies may be .ist effectually and expeditiously. (Hear, hear.) iue to be raised. (Hear.) Are we then agreed le ? Is that admitted? If it is, I think I may ' that it is not difficult for those who do admit with us in our protestations and resistance ieasure. (Hear.) I came down to the house 'gest determination on this subject, but with that I should hear a great deal in the course with which I could not agree - still a great deal muity and with force in favour of the appoint oramittee. I have been a patient and an in n. to the debate ever since half-past four o'clock quarter past eleven), and I must say that, if it For me to entertain sentiments of malevolence Arad proposition, such as that a Parliamentary tild bo appointed, those bad feelings would have to the uttermost by the mode in which that been treated to-night. (Hear.) As one object 'meeting the committee, and prepared to make tther than accede to it, I have seen with delight rote of good sense in this house, true English • Perspicuity, which has given tone and colour (Hear.) I think, sir, that in the course of the sse called upon something like twenty speakers. them have defended this mode of inquiry by anittee ? My right hon. friend opposite (Mr. dad it, on the ground of historical precedent, - Particular. My right hon. friend late the 'the of the Admiralty (Sir J. Graham) brought his S i t i ees sis ,,, in to action, and made a most formidable assault is s t tst ` t tee ; but no answer has been attempted in the .agree.i s 7eza.; No man has gone through that masterly Oe l l', 4 'se discussiox of my right hon. friend. True, he I V etr a I PPled with on the score of precedent, but not of kisoks,l`Prudence. My right hon. friend (Mr. S. Her 'lies he pas same line of argument as my right hon. friend, is 7 4. v ss na a prejudiced party. He had a foregone con we" l a _n.conclusions were, however, destined for our ,Pea,,,.,_ 464 but to wait a little, and from all quarters i s 'irbWations against this committee. The hon. mem- Orsb e nahire (Mr. Palke) stated in the fairest manner i less es " a s ions and objections against it. My hon. friend h, s o "?r Kidderminster (Mr. Lowe), also made an able s4th e ich no answer has been attempted. My hon. 4 1 ; is it .Recorder (Mr. S. Wortley) followed in the same Se°,tes s i ts :,- 11 no answer is attempted by the promoters of ks `tts n " o r The arguments we hear are all for inquiry ; 'lk t i t op going to fight the battle against inquiry. We ‘l, le taed to inquiry. On the contrary, we say, Vl'S sa 0 best, the mo st searching inquiry, but do not lltrt ii ?o of inquiry, give us that which we believe S t 'llity ' unPosture, if tanot a mischief, and which, in all i o s i p ' will prove both." (Hear, hear.) The hon. mem "te,.. S urrey (Mr. Drummond) made a speech to gessesssrtaining as his speeches always are ; and my *, I believe, ma l ees he made a speech in favour of as % , ig S e j„„, - la laugh)—but all minds are subject to oc ylisswlns--(laughter)--and perhaps the most bril s, si are not exempt from the infirmities which t 4 I:ther men. What did my hen. friend say ? He is t hist, l l, e is infinite danger in this committee, and I can >t s„. Si with.s. safe conscience, unless beforehand you Otolattruction as to the course which the examine k h. •'' (Hear, hear.) It is not for me to construe i ittie , but I understand tend the explanation of that to be kz , gof the code of questions which are to be put in Vie.! a nd such a meaning I give to it. (Hear, hear.) the n et all. We had more important declarations still i t 4 nit lord the member for Totnes (Lord Seymour), ! ki 4 114 t icip a t 4.ability ex Perience and appear to designate him ' . e son n the minds of members of this house as the hab 15 t , 4 4 s t !in of the committee. It was the most cruel ii 4 th e ' 0 hear the string of charges which he urged 111, r e , e nareittee. My memory is too weak to retain !I. 4 l4l t rt t ea ': ). would interfere, he said, with the operation of 41, e of Paige—it would be unjust -in short, there was N'rci did right hon. friend (Sir J. Graham) that the 'Os, 4 1 . not endorse. (Hear, hear.) Then, see the ,klOtee. when attend the choice of the members of your N , th, t 1 7 1 sen a gentleman makes his motion for a corn- N il t ,Nl is it / nobody. We do not know who is going to Is 'sr ° ' and votes are recorded for or against it as an istteroesPosition. But it is a bad sign if, when responsi- NO b. e ,,,. ° IT driven home a little, by asking a man to Ihisi:htisi e nnittee, you then find that it is difficult to get s„ . Ts er ' ° ?rnittee of persons who are favourable to the 111 Ztlrs es e is a sentiment of Mr. Burke, which, like all lOrlyt , is founded on practical wisdom, and runs t i ,s,hs genao this effect :—" That you ought not to commit 4 1 1,qis o lit of an engine to persons who altogether &B- O ' s nature and character of the engine." (Hear.) e st %is . 4 try 4 ,_ , t s , Ils: a z lltt ee. that maxim by the proposed composition of kt "N lis t „ It is to consist of eleven members, and of N tS el stere are four of whom there is no doubt at all, 15,„ 4 , L iiss,! i are recorded their sentiments in a parlia -I.` Is a nf i ° 4 against the committee—there are Mr. I,; \ : t ‘i m s4eYrnour, Mr. John Ball, and General Peel. N i s' °, l l ° is . that of my honourable friend Sir George Jec t i t t i ' l no opportunity of voting ; he may, there the ','lts \ t s., L itand neutral ; but I rather think I can divine 1 4fth N 7 is likely to have entertained upon the sub ta th ,, i; 0 . , ,, Miould not go wrong if I put him down as kik, s 6, 4 di s l lere, then, we have five men, not for stifling 111 ~."4e r ,' Si 4 ,Pproving of the committee. We come next S'trt e ; li tlle fi b er for West Surrey (Mr. Drummond), who S ii i k e i lt tr e ?t wish to go into the committee unless its q e a aiqlklited, and its *ours° marked out for it by S e gs,,,ajosi t Peculiar instructions of this house. He would ck,'"After him comes the hon. member for k' t he ~I le res'a l s aYard), who, asting in the most manly man .,tllllle o Zcste nit s t ° ll eealed or suppressed his opinions respect ittsiltse of e , e l ; He used strong language on the subject al;' , 'Ss le ?, am j' first debate ; but he disapproves of the 1, si t ,'t to thinksthinks it a bad, and possib . ly . . mischievous, Illes.q.°nt the Ploy. Thus, you have a majority—six mem ss'', s i ! vers i ' scis n° ,l - member for West Surrey—and it es ' d x gesti c ' that in appointing this committee not 4,5,5 ; 'institute oche who disapprove of its appointment Cs.' 4 g ; and see majority upon it. There are throe mere I , il i , Vit th e of these I doubt if there be ono who is in A I'llt e i Committee Cu his own mind. lam an opponent Vtpi.,°7 ballot ; but I owa my opinion is, that if the ky k to k 7tl by ballot on the subject of the appoietment of Itp t, "%t tlitt ee , I say that that side of the question would Nili isle a most respectable muster, and that it is not 'slat it ld be found in a majority. (Laughter.) Os , . 04 , Wu I t a N e bear on the other side ? We heard from the Ott% s' i , r °r Wenlock (Mr. Gaskell) thati it is impossible s:tllio` s ae ~people would be content without a committee, Nkk bl/ 4 my friend had to say. But I have more 1i ti ~., t % ,,, hon. kk,,,°, l i ti ",: ll 7Men and our institutions. When we en ss,"itss,'Skss‘& I believe our duty is to come forward and. ti fro Ne -- ` ll 5 , and I say that the very debate of to s°4 of r ills 'Y kle' lv I, c rs res ts rt e , er made to my right . hon. friend's . ap- DS ‘'lg b '<a ' Which we did not expect it, the manifests rPo 7 ?at, • • Sid se it res so samst this committee, and the total want of ti th e qthaOf that it is an inetrument well adapted for the h to le it sb . o e , .opi ill see_—amply convince me of the recti rJectlrs'stir NI, and the wisdom of applying it to practice e 4gl, gleh d 'quires. There is a topic connected with this tiNst ki s 4 helps I lion not affect the house, but does affect myself st''filp ' ll ion who has so recently held office, to which b rae ambl e t lding. I frankly own it would have been s o Ns e Ni s e ,onvince myself that I was acting in a man- Or ''',ho 4i : (.° the laws of personal honour, if, being one 5 14 4 s ' s 4 eas) 4° hsted Lord Raglan to.his tremendous task yis t , P a ysiss o 7 a nd one of those who stood by whilst all the 4 !Ss NI i n en ts in the Crimea were made -if while he 0,01 104 th a t , task, and we, the advisers of the Crown sli4Ofeedt l4 Proper to recall him, we had declined to act IN 41 4 h o rß „ and protectors, and had handed over his VIIIq a ' c lor, and his character to the good or the ill VI II lis %le e s . Vt o 1 14 of committee of this house (Hear.) I . hold it IV0 1 ; 4 0 ba se government that no persons being advisers . of t s , is is ` right to pursue such a course. They appoint S'l, s 'etes e r'Y be, to the ends of the earth, and there dis ,,,lld 0 , awfully responsible, solemn, difficult, compli till'es gr,,halroing duties that can fall to the lot of man. s i s' il 'ills e iMh laden with a sense of their responsibility S klet , ii s t ss ho ' uo ns ur a profession hh of which d th th e vital air t is f i o t: : 111 1,'''l e ll „ r3 ; 'nen who In ho en h w ave o be a e v n e m se u rv tila e mutilated ti its service— tll"hs 'nth to lead armies,themselves k. h , r ss ,,, ... your and charge iA e s syonsibilities upon your and our account. They bits that during their absence they cannot have , t, i 'lllit o ' from free , it may be licentious, comment. They k 4 ,,ls at iy „ . 6l l that it is incidental to our free institutions *", s on 'Z r a where the hearts of the people are deeply Q‘ l 44l (isa e ll f larP and Paintiltiltnqs, many hasty, preedi -0 ~s t ii s th, f , ore unjust and •Ite* . l . things, may be sa thi i . cel i . ,',. lisi7! t he mouths of hesipAra,Ve members . of . s fstO s s ..,"c stopped ; and that here, too, things will be iSthp;,7 andimperfect infdrmation, which those who k N., - .Ps will one day deeply lament having said. 10 o nd s Surely, these are hard circumstances for • the q A„, s oti ° l t hers commanding the army in the Crimea to en- I, it i ltet ay ne one defender? Is there no one body of men f 0 ,'O 4 t) is ; r7 whose duty it is to support or recal them. I • ,. 141• \ ' h ie and that body of men is the advisers of the SIAN ,:ra, .) Upon them they have a right to rely S I N ti " NZ, Long as the advisers of the Crown continue to ) t N4ti so 'Mee in them by leaving them in the exercise Ir k k kt qlo ole rsich nothing but their cbnfidence can justify, i , 4 N ii, & ,, , they be a shield for their character and honour I t 4 l, t ' : : eas ‘ attack, aid never consent to hand over even lo :st:Tate° of this house the casket which contains (Zi k es Its .nd honour. (Cheers.) When I speak of in -4171.1411. eh Personal honour, Ido not pretend to judge 1 S., Of w , do not suppose myself better qualified to fix a t l 4 r l st ol 7 . nat is conformable with personal honour than Ni ill isl it e c ert fri s a nds who are now Ministers of the Crown. N its t ell that am that they are more competent than I am ~,Ss,sse _ , matter, and that they would adhere to any L 'lt t llt to Which they may have recognised. But I think it qtt.hoon flay to the house that which I confess deeply Iiels sI l l• fsl a Y s ?wn mind. What is this committee ? My 1 his t IS.a l - t " iss ' (Mr. Walpole) thinks he proved much wlien, li,Visi„ is r guage, he asserted the right of the house te ks his s ' ili sa ''' s ] .B and others to account. If he chooses that 4, 1 14751 s ; 40 1 to show his prowess, I apprehend he will hi,so" to w ithout a champion to engage him. lam ready Ip t 'S t ° , o tis i 7.4 but to assert that right. But that is not into 4 app oi _ S nrel, you . will not tell me that you itre IL. eLtos int Ss this committee for . the purpose of call hi.Nc.ts a a .'he Generals in the Crimea. (Hear, hear.) h t e ill e aas the committee is that you cannot help (IN \*er is : 14r oittee of accusation against them ; but wo t' , ),) sf Dr c ,r B e 4 you capable of imagining such a scheme k s .et s It i 4 el lting charges against them in their absence. VI 4t sSili n ., l4 rfectly plain tosstat a committee for the pur sllshNiss;ithe Generals ccount is a committee that S„res t t i he . ',follow the facts, and there is my answer to tIs4N,, Ilm oh t nld. (Hear, hear.) My right hon. friend has 4,t 4 it; 4 4 i ll „historical learning in the production of pre -4..` t o e Pes a t t " iv o cases he shows that an investigation of bSS 4 aels o t ° lla has been entrusted by the vote of this 0 i lo , tn) o ss eo nsnlittees ; but my right hon. friend's (Sir o t , Nis. "Jections to a 11 1 11 N.,„ , lary „ , select committee in this instance Vtarose i, ,an,a . secondary objections. We deny that ks N. Yes le gitimate —we den that you will act either h ‘i t Of t , . coli stitutionall ifyou undertake yourselves, at j,%ac ti s ,',us hone, much Y , , Vis i , ew es ,. , more if you instruct a select .corn is her, 'ties, o silgation of the state of the army pending a lit b e s Peration. That is the ground of contest, and t .40 , . tl,l l 04 11 -1 mistakef„„ about it. Cheers.) I do not mind sis this ras I "it,j , 0 4 14 ell an am ooneerned the unanimity that pre % Is , , that 'Seed. In the first place, lam sure that pre-. I,N,nson _question will be isplayed. It has, unfortu * 'Rill ...sx e s ._l3 with A i 'teq t , er p a w c, itli the . political considerations and SO ts hat , 7 ; but when we examine the question lam ~ I s , 4 at a , e s a son and justice will prevail ; and if it ap -4kl4;rSos, uo loaittee is not a legitimate instrument for i l t s sr, . to s e:, t tst ,Isli s , tor i„„ :"Cn you propose to apply it, the mere i s 1 : 4 - hex t v e u r try by . a committee is one that is easy for !so ot som nii ,, resolution and manliness to resist. (Hear, co es' t s t ote ) " e c of punishment I presume, the commit- It t ba sm esli to ._ be cattie you will not ' say that you are pre !ks tok s and I, 4 , e _ount the generals and others who exercise Nisei ti s:iss ee ,fa r esponsible situations in the Crime°. Is 4 jlil i aen li t form ef retn 6 4 If so, is it the most effectual and Nne l ar li t 4 tl fo remedy Are committees of this house ea s s ass , e . purßose.of applying effectual and " T ua 4 %leting 8,000 miles off! I once sat omplished, n omthe ls 1 , 1 1 , 51,1 1 ° are on 4 re h ou se, to be ' in through the kbPo. kt o t a to r.) I ana band 'aeso 3up to the proses t • the „,,Y sot ) pi n ion. (Cheers.) ,;"%erlia ing— nam ely, ths , Yof th friezd (Lord r tit fit c alling mem b e r for Csls:, this l e question in the to I, e 01 s needless for nse ie'd", ll ,, t sire ] link of the Par tto 4 _tie nice r the circurnstanese Nth iss A 110 , 4 ling a warm and 4 'qtr e - I Ple a an experience lk" t o to gay ), and co-opersillii t1:1181:1!Ilr eventful years , Ch the this rn, '„y to my country 1 , 0 :t k , st roll le friend was sogeo" 'th e vressia ' ate kii c len* say that there 1,1„ mg ter involved in as! St 4 4 1110 n ause, in public lif! , t 74t,,, t this co from my noble frO t o „ l etenel tened—as it was I ) , Ztt„o"elv a I , Lde from variousssibl f o f that noble to ~ kl :44 - t an abst r me to have odes , shon But he has been di o ;• cial hand ; an d ' n t o kli ° ,, a has Are followed, I bre tukteri" dep r , ;s and state ra,, o ‘ I,,Nktiuee rat ear, hear.) . "lteo dersteed Tweeei!in k tt l. l o A te and erdean denounced, irt:!loo4ehate. tatesmen of his I Zo4lYetihm him the erkst a i,fool o'Pgat tl i could the* „1 14Poi a cora • dilide ' defend name the lo 41 40 its sure he bas leo 1, 0 ° tiler A bt : Of THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 24, 1855. on a committee of this house relative to operations at a dis tance—the rebellion in Ceylon. That committee sat two ses sions, yet its report was utterly abortive, nugatory, and worthless. It confessed the it competency of the committee to deal with the subject, and ended by recommending the ap pointment of a commission. Your committee can remedy , nothing because its powers are limited to this coun try. Now, is it to examine into the state of the army in the Crimea ? It has no power to do so. Its power does not extend through the medium of this house beyond the limits of the kingdom. You can hear wit nesses at home, but you have no power to compel witnesses in the Crimea. I will not speak of the conduct of my noble friend, but it is impossible not to see the advantages of the measure which he proposes to take. He proposes to send out commissioners with full powers; they will search into the truth, and Lord Raglan will have power to apply remedies. You must spend twice the time by means of your committee, in order to ascertain the truth, than will be required if the other means are adopted. It is only that the really formidable character of this committee comes out when you come to this point. It is not a committee of punishment or remedy, but a committee of government. It is simply the taking out of the hands of the executive government the highest and most delicate of its offices. lam bound to say that I think such a proceeding is w'iolly incompatible with the real convenience on the part of Parliament of those who hold the executive, and entirely incompatible with the confidence and the credit that should attach to a Minister of the Crown, whatever poli tical c, eed or party that minister may profess. Is the ques tion, then, of the transfer of public functions a great or small question ? This question is much aggrava ed because of the form of this select committee ; for you are by this committee not only taking power from the Crown—you may find scot sional precedents for that—but you are going to delegate that power to a small committee up stairs. It seems to be an im pression that this is an easy matter ; that it is easy to come to this state of the facts, and that if the facts are not ascer tained it is entirely on account of the negligence .of Govern ment. I ask the house to bear with me while I give an illus stration of the case. The hon member for Aylesbury stated one case on which it was obvious, he said, the house could proceed at once. The dismissal of Captain Christie, the head of the transport service, might take place at once on account of inefficiency. Now, let me put the case to the house, and let us see how the matter stands. It will show how the Government of my noble friend proceeds when the facts are clear. The honourable member for Aylesbury says—and his statement was received as part of the case against Govern ment—why do you not dismiss Captain Christie after the mismanagement ho has been shown to have been guilty of. Has Captain Christie been put out of office ? (Hear.) Is that all ? Captain Christie was on his way home—he had reached Malta —when my right hon., friend, learning he had been charged with mismanagement, made him return to the East, in order that he may undergo a trial by court-martial. Are these facts unknown to the house ? The hon. member for Aylesbury says that Captain Christie is guilty of misma nagement. I will practically show some of the bearings of the question by mentioning how - reports are sometimes dealt with. Somebody comes from the Crimea in November, and says so and so. An hon. member eomes down to the house and reports that he has seen a gentleman, who has told him that our army has perished—has nearly gone. Now, apply this to the case of Captain Christie. A gentleman (Mr. Layard) left the Crimea in November ; but then comes the hon. mem ber for Liulithgow, who left the Crimea in December, who, in a plain and manly manner, declared that he had the means of judging of the great merits of Captain Christie, and it was with the utmost grief he heard he had been visited with cen sure. His testimony was that of an eye-witness, and we may learn from this, owing to contradictory witnesses, that to get at the truth 3,000 miles off is no easy matter. So, therefore, I say it is better to have those who can exercise inquiry on the spot than a committee who can only inquire at a distance. Sir, I object to the committee on constitutional grounds. It may seem visionary and pedantic for me to do so. I hope I am no pedant on constitutional questions. My opinions are of a Conservative character—(laughter, and oh) —certainly not of an extremely Conservative character. (Oh.) Yet my Conservative feelings revolt from taking the functions of the executive Government, with respect to the army In the field, partially out of the hands of Government, and con ferring them on a committee of this house. Sir, it is not for me to say there is almost no precedent for course. If you ask where is the constitution of England to be found, is it in Blackstone, in De Lolme, in Hallam, or in other writers on our laws—Ll say, sir, without fear of con tradiction, that no small part of our living and working con stitution is to be found in the usages and precedents of the House of Commons. (Hear, hear.) The power of the House of Commons, if we look at it in the abstract, is sufficient to plunge the country into confusion; but the wise limits you put on that power enable you to wield it without crushing other bodies which are charged with other powers. I have heard people say—who set aside all ideas of this kind—that the extreme emergency of the occasion—the extreme greatness of the calamity—make the present an exceptional case. I tell hon. gentlemen that all bad precedents grow out of excep tional cases. But, suppose this is an exceptional case ; take all the precedents you can on that score, and it is still subject to that condition, that to meet calamity on the instant you call into action an instrument more powerful than can be applied. If we had power to fall back on an extreme case, I could understand your argument. But you make your argu ment an excuse for bringing into operation an , instrument that must prove weak and futile, as you are not armed with power necessary for your purpose. Your whole argument thus cuts the ground from under you. No answer has been given to my right bon. friend on the subject of the fearful— the solemn consideration he has referred to—namely, what bearing the inquiry will have on the state and discipline of the army of the East, and its relations with our ally. The right hon. gentleman the member for Droitwich thinks he has distinguished between the policy of the expedition to the Crimea, and the circumstances under which it took place. That task, however, the right honourable gentleman found too difficult. But suppose a case. Suppose the question was introduced of the lateness of the season the army went to the Crimea, and the want of information. Did those questions apply to England alone ? (Hear, hear.) Did the French army go to the Crimea sooner than the English army ? (Hear, hear.) Is the right hon. gentleman aware of the time the besieging train left Toulon t One point to inquire into cannot be passed by. Is the committee to inquire why no roads were made from Balaklava to the camp If no in quiry—instead of ascertaining the state and the cause of.the state of the army, the inquiry will be a frald. If you take evidence on the subject and inquire —the answer will be— want of labourers. Why so? Because the men were em ployed in the trenches. Why send so many men into the trenches trenches B Be ee cr is s e u t o i f i e t h h o e , i o r n r e w x t n e s n d t vta W o a hy bet s w uc e h on e t x h t e e extent n g o - f lisle and French army. I hope it will not be supposed for a moment that I wish to insinuate a doubt as to the gallant spirit of the French, and their disposition to lend every aid in their power to the British general. But what the French may justly claim from us is this, and what we should assert for them as ourselves, is that they should be independent in their judgment on such matters, and that no committee of the House of Commons should presume to interfere. I tell you again that the inquiry will be a mockery if you do not inquire into the absence of the road ; and if you advance from this and make the question turn on the distribution of labour, and whether the road was sufficiently well or otherwise made, with the best intention, you will find that those inquiries will run you up into questions of the most intimate relations be tween France and England. The step, however, shall not be taken without warning. The patience of the British army is great—its discipline is admirable. I will not answer for the temper of the army under the protracted application of such a machinery as that contemplated by the committee of in quiry. It is impossible to pursue this subject without touch ing on ground too tender and too delicate. I may, perhaps, have already gone too far. My excuse i s, that I desire to pre vent gr eat danger and. embarrassment. What are we to do ? We are told we had better assent to this committee, because if another government came in it might do something as bad or worse. With great and sincere respect to right hon. gen tlemen opposite, I say, without acrimony, I have difficulty in understanding the course they have pursued on this question. lam quite sure they would not pursue it if they themselves had succeeded to power. I have a suspicion or hope that if Lord Derby came into power three weeks ago —or possibly now—that we should combine to get rid of a committee—a weak and mischievous committee —and to sub stitute something better. But that is not our matter. Ours is a business of the highest consequence—to sound our con science, and to be governed by its verdict. Still, can we endure to be told we ought to have thought of this three weeks ago ; that the House of Commons world not reverse its judgment. It is not a light matter- however, to be con victed of levity, though it is better to do that than to commit great blunders (weunderstood). Nothing, however, can justify us in concurring in a policy we think to be false and ruinous. Since the first vote of the House of Commons, no doubt Bay noble friend would entertain the same opinion of the com mittee as he did before. My noble friend is perfectly aware that before my acceptance of office became announced to the world, that I had the satisfaction of some conversation with him, in which I was told that the continued opposition of Government would be offered to the motion. This can be no secret, for the right hon. gentleman opposite must have ob served this was the only meaning of a portion of the noble lord's - speech which he then delivered. So much, then, fo the personal and Parliamentary part of the question. I am obliged to speak in a strain of egotism. I have advanced opinions that are adverse to the views entertained. by a large maiority ; but I hope I have made it clear that the ground by which I and my right honourable friends were actuated was not an aversion to inquire into the cala mities which had occurred in the Crimea, or the alleged mismanagement. I hope the house, with its own broad field, with its own great and noble vocation—rely upon it you have enough to do. There is the prospect of army reform. Why not let us close with the hon. gentleman's proposition, and prosecute inquiry You will have to in quire into the whole system of admission of training and promotion. The honourable gentleman said that merit ought to bo the only ground of promotion in the army. I answer that I am bound to say, when reform in the army comes to be practically carried out on the principle that the sole basis for public service ought to be merit, the hon. gentleman will find that the greatest obstacle to overcome will be found within the walls of this house. (Hear.) However that may be, I hope the house will be content to deal with the great question of the relation which the Indian army ought to bear to the army, and I trust that question will be brought to a successful issue. I regret on this question we are opposing ourselves to popular feeling. I know that in times of public excitement lamentable scenes have occurred—blood has been shed, under the idea that it was a fitting atonement for the mismanagement of the public service. When we look back, the deeds of our forefathers fill ' us with horror and shame. We live in milder times. And the fault perhaps is that public servants are not called to an account'sufficiently strict—(hear) —and that responsibility is only made real, and not a name, through the medium of a feeling of honour. No such scenes are now to be apprehended ; the feelings of the people have been aroused—they do not desire to be shocked by the repeti tion of scenes that have passed ; their feelings now find vent at the first sight of Parliamentary irregularity (we under stood). But we shall see Parliamentary irregularity first of all disappoint public expectation ; next involve cruel injus tice ; and last o 8 all exhibit the dark side of public disaster. It is our duty, whether many or few, alone or attended, to protest against this measure ; and the resistance we offer here, with the great pain of wounded feeling, and with the utmost respect to the representatives of the people, is accom panied by the fixed and unalterable determination to do that which we conceive the public interests and our sense of justice demand. (Cheers.) Viscount PALMERSTON Sir, I can assure my right hon, friends who have this evening explained to the house the grounds on which they have separated themselves from her Majesty's Government that I shall not utter a single word of criticism on the course which they have thought it their duty to pursue, convinced as I am that they acted from the sincere conviction that their duty pointed to the path they pursued, and that by so doing they not only intended in the best manner to give effect to their opinions, but they per formed their duty to their country. I feel the greatest regret at having lost the assistance of the right hon. gentlemen with whom it was my good fortune to act during the last two years, and of whom I can 'say, with perfect truth, that which they said of those they have left, that there prevailed amongst us the most cordial confidence, and that on those great ques tions now pending for action and decision no difference on the great principles of policy which Government pursues ex. Wed. • On the other hand, I must say that at the time when it was her Alp i jedy'i pleasure to 00= 16 4 4 t° olltle 4 Your to form a Government, it was impossible that either I, or those with whom I was about to act, should have shut their eyes to the fact, that there was the committee which the house had determined should sit, and the appointment of which we must be prepared to meet. I stated on a former occasion the objec tion to the course which the house, by a large majority, had determined, nevertheless, to pursue. Those objections, to a certain degree, still remain. But when I considered what was the real nature of the course the house followed, it was im possible not to see that when the question, originally passed by a great majority, that the great majority which passed it were actuated by two separate and distinct motives. A great portion voted because they thought the inquiry ought to take place. But unquestionably there was another por tion who, as has been stated by my right honourable friends, supported the motion because they considered it was a vote of no confidence in the Government. (Flear, hear, hear.) Well, sir, the motion was carried. We resigned our offices. Her Majesty then commissioned Lord Derby to form an other Government. That noble lord was unable to do it. I stated to him why I thought that under the circumstances my junction with him would not enable him to form that strong government which it is admitted on all hands the country requires. The attempt of the noble lord failed. My noble friend the member for London then endeavoured to form a Government. My noble friend was equally unsuccess ful. Why, then, I felt having been called on, that it was my duty to endeavour to the best of my abilities to form a Go vernment—(cheers)—to form that Government which the country so urgently required. If we had not formed a Go vernment, the result must, I presume, have been that that noble lord, who felt that he could not with credit to himself, or advantage to the country, form a Government—would have been again obliged to make the attempt, and to present a Government to the Sovereign the best he could find. I do not deny that there are great objections to this committee. But the country took it up in a different sense from that in which many members voted for it. Many lion. members voted for it as an indication that they had no confidence in the Government. But the country knew no refinements of that kind. The nation having had its attention deeply fixed on the events that had taken place in the Crimea—having had its feelings deeply wounded by the recital day by day of the sufferings brought on the army engaged in these opera tions— the country seeing that there had undoubtedly been mismanagement in various departments concerned in the operations, honestly and sincerely desired inquiry. (Cheers ) Men did not first stop to ask what Government was to con duct the inquiry, but they said " There is something grie vously wrong ; we insist on an inquiry into the causes of the mischances that have taken place." That opinion of the coun try reacted .on the house, and when we met after the Govern- Ment was reconstituted, and after other attempts to make a Government had failed, we found ourselves in this position, that though we might not have desired the _committee, either that it should not be appointed at all, or its appoint ment postponed, we had no right, any of us, to deceive ourselves by expectations that it was possible to resist the committee altogether, or to press the house to rescind its former decision. I did undoubtedly think that when we should have stated to the house the various changes, improvements, and administrative reforms which we were prepared to make, and the inquiries which we ourselves were making into the causes of these mischances iu the Crimea, that the house, for a time at least, would have foregone the appointment of a committee, and would have waited to see the result of the changes, and of our inquiries. But I never would have undertaken the task of forming a Government, nor would my right hen. friends have joined me in the task, if we had endeavoured to stake our continuance in office on the question whether this house would continue to affirm the vote it had come to. We should have thought that we were not acting worthily—that we were trifling with the house and the country if we had determined in our minds, to shrink from our posts if the house should not be persuaded to re scind the vote it had come to. No doubt there may be incon venience and evils attending the inquiry, but I think it a greater evil if this occasion presented to the world the lament able spectacle that in consequence of personal differences in the departments of Government—of the division of parties— we should for a month or six weeks be unable to find a set of public men who could present themselves to the country as a Government undertaking to conduct the public affairs. And at what period does this occur ! At a period when we are car rying on a great and arduous war—when we are engaged in most important operations—when on the one hand energy and vigour in the conduct of hhe war are required, and on the other hand a great degree of conciliation and moderationmay be required to conduct the negotiations for peace. I thiuk , therefore, we have followed the course which it was our duty to pursue. I think if we had abandoned our pests on this oc casion—if we had set our opinions up against the deliberate judgment of the nation—if we had undertaken the vain task of resisting the unanimous sentiments of the people by attempting to refuse inqniry, I think we should have un dertaken a vain task, and should not have performed the duty which we had engaged to perform. (Hear, hear.) I have been asked by the honourable member for Manchester whether we intend to abide by those propositions of peace which were settled by the Cabinet which existed before the first vote of the houseon the question of this com mittee, and concurred in afterwards by the reconstructed cabinet. Most assuredly we do-abide by those propositions. Most unquestionably the instructions under which the noble lord Ahe member for the city of London is now proceeding to Vienna are founded on those resolutions to which my friends on that bench were parties. And when lam asked if we are prepared to negotiate in good faith, I say we are so pre pared, and that if we were not we should be unworthy not only of holding office but of being members of this great assembly. (Hear, hear.) We are as anxious as men can be to be able, in terms consistent with the future safety of Europe —consistent with the attainment of those objects for which the war was begun—to put an end to the war by an honour able treaty of peace. But I think if by an over-desire for peace we were to conclude what would be more properly a hollow and insecure truce than a safe and honourable peace, we would be leaving open the same sources of danger as those which had brought us into this arduous straggle—(hear, hear.) If we were to agree to terms which would leave that danger in all its, former aptitude, instead of deserving the thanks of the country- we should deserve its censure ; for in that case we should have betrayed the trust reposed in us, and achieved a temporary peace while we had laid the foundation of great future calamities. (Hoar, hear.) That then is the line Gevernment is prepared to pursue. We have felt it our duty, in a moment of groat emefgency, when other persons who had had an opportunity of forming a Government were unable to do so—when the question put to us was whether we would leave the country in, I may say, a state of anarchy, or whether we would undertake the Government—we have felt it our duty, I say, to under take the task. (Hear.) We intend to-perform it honestly and conscientiously. If peace is to bo obtained on terms con sistent with future security, it will not be our fault if peace is not so obtained. If, on the other hand, it should happen that the abilities of the noble lord the member for London, and the sincere desire of the Government to put an end to the war on proper conditions, should unluckily fail, then it will be our duty to prosecute the war with that vigour w hi c h m ay be necessary for its successful termination. In that case we are persuaded that we shall not appeal in vain to the generous spirit of Parliament. I am convinced that whatever differences may exist between parties who sit in . l different parts of the i house, dewootnfaao esuE; 1 deudt ehl o.oba: those pteptewhha, raueatti humiliating and riwd ff l t e ieavhh r t ieaiesnntrigoec shallwn e a s rse ne w odpaa ulnri disgraceful see eptgfn:otlnr personal the o n c t o t g e h nt l a t i la o at l te g rat o h x :e h i t s a m i hbti moment empire not country—the n a p r t l e e pe rcy aa i tt e t y— lt h eh e qb et ue f h a s e l ap c sa t e t e i jealousies or differences on particular questions, disabling the Parliament of this country from obtaining a Government and those means by which alone the affairs of the country could be properly conducted, and the arduous and difficult straggle in which we aro now engaged brought to a successful and honourable result. Sir, these a.e the grounds on which we have undertaken the duty imposed upon us. If the house and the country should think that we do not properly per form the duty expected from us, and if any other Govern ment can present itself which will be more acceptable to Parliament and the country, then, sir, no feeling of personal consideration—no paltry love of power will induce us to cling to the posts we occupy longer than we think we can do so with advantage to the country and credit to ourselves. But until we find that wo have lost the confidence of Parlia ment and country—until we find that the the nation is disap pointed with us, and condemns instead of supporting us—so long as we have the support of public opinion, and the good will of Parliament and the country, the house may depend upon it we shall exert ourselves to the utmost, and that we shall not quit the posts to which the Crown has selected -us to fill. (Cheers.) Mr. DISRAELI — I am quite sure that the noble lord is correct in anticipating that the existing Government in the present emergency will receive a liberal and candid sup• port from the house. But it would have been a satisfaction to the house if the noble lord could have made it conve nient to assure us and the country that the Government was really in existence. (Cheers, and laughter.) The noble lord has omitted in his speech to answer the argu ments of the right hon. baronet the late First Lord of the Admiralty, and of the right hon. gentleman the late Chan cellor of the Exchequer, against granting the committee. But the noble lord made another omission, almost as singular, for he forgot that we had been collected together to-day to hear from the noble lord that he had at last been successful in forming an Administration. (Hear, hear.) If that be the case, I think it shows some want of consideration in the leader of the House of Commons permitting us to adjourn without having the gratifying information made known to us and the country. The noble lord says, "So long as we pos sess the confidence of the house and the country, we intend to do our duty, and to retain our phices." (Hear, hear.) But what we want to know is, who are "we I" (Renewed cheers and laughter.) The moment, no doubt, has come of national peril—the emergency is granted by all. All persons in this house are prepared to lend the Government a generous and disinterested support ; but it does not appear to me to be a very severe condition that we should be acquainted with the members of her Majesty's Government—(hear, hear) — that we should at least know who those are whom we shall support in the fulfilment of a great and onerous duty in cir cumstances so grave and trying. (Cheers.) In listening to the argument —or rather to the statement of the noble lord, for it was not an.argument—l am bound to say that I find it neither satisfactory nor coherent. (Cheers.) I expected that the noble lord would at least have attempted to answer the argumentative speeches of his late right hon. colleagues ; but was present based of h the noble lord did not do so. The noble lord, however, in stead, vindicated d informed he causes thewthmhoeue which ri u si cp A oon dm uditthi i i n os i n et i ra no fq t ui i o o ury n r , army in the Crimea. But the noble lord had opposed that very committee, which was now to be supported by his Go vernment—(cheers)—he opposed it in language the most streauous, and with opposition the most uncompromising when he formed part of the late Government. (Cheers.) That Government, however, ceased to- exist. It is unne cessary for me to refer now to the circumstances which intervened between that day and the day on which the noble lord received the high honour of a commission from her Majesty to form an administration; and I only advert to the fact for the purpose of making one observation with the view of correcting an inaccuracy in the statement of tt a ol it poli c y th e the noble lord, with respect to Lord Derby's attempts to form a Government. Lord Derby never declines}, as the noble lord has stated, the exalted duty imposed on him because he could not form a government ; he declined it solely because he could not form a strong administration. And, sir, I cannot admit that the noble lard, especially in the position in which he now finds himself, after a ten day's experience of his own most felicitous enterprise, has any just reason or any clear right to plume himself on his success over Lord Derby in this matter. (Cheers and laughter.) Let us look to the noble lord's, former conduct as regards this committee in contrast with his present support of it, and in connection with his mode of dealing with his late colleagues. Tho noble lord, when a member of the late Government, opposed the committee 'to inquire into the causes which have led to the present condition of our army before Sebastopol ; I am bound to presume upon principle. (A laugh.) Since then the noble lord has become the head of a ministry, on which, no later than last Tuesday, he delivered the highest possible eulogium, congratulating the country on its possessing men of such sagacity, such wisdom, and such high political qualities, as would live for ever in the memory of this house. (A laugh.) The noble lord when called upon to form an administration, formed it upon the principle—if he formed it on any principle—(a laugh)—Of opposing the'coramittee of inquiry. (Hear.) There TM no other itibject, tubed, which ppire4 any conwaval, ' cation. between himself and his late colleagues. (Hear.) The , Inoble lord confessed, in fact, that as regarded his foreign policy there was no difference between him and Lord Aberdeen. There was only one question, then, ou which the necessity of a frank explanation existed as between the noble lord and his late colleagues. The right hon. baronet ,the late First Lord of the Admiralty has explained already why there was not a perfect confidence between him and the noble lord, but with a certain reserve which. 'his position imposed on him. But the house had it from the right hon. gentleman the alamber forWiltshire, and the other right hen. gentleman the member for the University of Oxford; that the concession of this committee was the subject on which they required a clear and complete'understanding with the noble lord; and, as I collect from them, the noble lord objected, in the expla nations which ensued, to the principle of the proposed in quiry, and expressed his determination to resist it. (Hear.) Well, what does the noble lord do ? Last Friday night he ex pressed his intention of resisting the,committee. On what ground ? On theground that it was unconstitutional. (Cheers.) Not on any slight, paltry, or insufficient grounds, but ou the most effective ground that could be taken in the case—that it was unconstitutional. (Cheers.) Is it not a strange thing, then, that the First Minister of the Crown —the head of the new Government—should—within the space of one short„ " one little week "—be prepared to concede that which he pronounced then to be unconstitutional? (Cheers.) And for what reason ? Simply because - he preferred to remain First Minister—because, on his own sho wino, no other person could form a strong Ministry. (Laughter.) ° I apprehend, sir, there arc others who could form a Ministry as strong as that of the noble lord, to say the least of it. (Cheers and laughter.) The noble lord forms his Cabinet upon the basis of opposing the committee to inquire into the causes which have led to, the present condition of our army iu the Crimea; and then, be fore a week has elapsed, we find him rising in his place in this house, and stating that his Government is favourable to the committee, without at the same ti me all eg ing a single reason, or offering the slightest argument, iu support of this sudden and extraordinary change in his policy. (Cheers.) After listening for hours to arguments, which I think were unan svrerab'e, and which he might have grappled with if he chose —and which, moreover, as the head of the Government and as the leader of the House of Commons, he might have conde scended to answer—the noble lord merely intimates that he has changed his opinion, that he accepts a proposition which so shortly since he had rejected as unconstitutional—(hear, hear)—and that he has alterid the basis of his Government. And this is the man whose consistency and whose energy is to save the country ! (Loud cheers and laughter.) The noble lord, however, gives one reason to the house for grant ing the committee. He has found out since last Friday that there is a strong, an irresistible, public opinion all over the country on the subject of inquiry into the causes which have led to the present condition of the army in the Crimea, and that no ministry would be justified in opposing that feeling. But what kind of an observer of the disposition of the nation must the noble lord be—what kind of an observer of public opinion in the country ? What skill must he have possessed in feeling the pulse of the public mind, if it is only since Fri day last the noble lord has come to that c inclusion / (Cheers.) That discontent that has prevailed in the country for many months, and which has resulted in the destruction of the late Government, never once induced the noble lord to . suppose this committee necessary. (Cheers.) Even when the noble lord is called upon to fulfil, perhaps, the most responsible duty which any man can be appointed to, the duty of forming a Go vernment for this country--at a time when a man thinks most deeply and feels most profoundly—if he thinks or feels at all—the noble lord still remains quite unconscious that this committee is necessary. (Cheers.) The noble lord is, in fact, so ignorant or negligent of the state of the• public mind on the subject, that he forms his Government in defiance of that necessity, and make a opposition to inquiry the basis of his ministry. Yet this is political sagacity—(cheers)--this is the administrative ability which has reconciled us for two years to the late Government— represented by the First Mi nister of the Crown. (H ear .) After the speech of the noble lord, I must confess that my hopes of the future as regards his Government are less glowing than , they have been. (Laughter and cheers.) I have made these observations, not , in reference to the argument of the noble lord, but in re ference to his change of opinion, for which he has offered no argument and no reason to the house. Of the necessity of the committee I have not changed my mind, although I have listened with attention to the arguments of Use right hon. gentlemen the late colleagues of the noble lord against it. (Laughter.) It has been said that this is an unconstitutional course for the House of Commons to take. I hardly care to enter on that question, it has been so amply discussed before, nor should I even allude to it but for the remark of the right hon. member for Oxford University. Sir, I did not come down to-night to enter on the question of the expediency or the inexpediency of the committee. I came down by appoint ment to hear the statements to be made and the arguments to be used by those distinguished statesmen- late members of the present Government--(laughter) — and to listen to the arguments and statements of the noble lord in reply. The right honourable gentleman took the constitutional course in making these statements, and the house would have a clear right to feel offended if they had not made a frank exposi tion of their views—as I presume it will he with the noble lord for not making a similar statement after seceding so lately from Lord Aberdeen's Government. I did not come to argue or to hear arguments on the necessity for inquiry ; that was settled by the overwhelming majority of the other night ; and I should be glad to see any minister who would dare to rescind that vote of the Hewn of. Commons. (Cheers.) But l it - is impossible not to notice the arguments adduced, however briefly. The right hon. member for the University of Oxford taunted in, right hon, friend the member for Midhurst for applying precedents to this case ; he did so be cause he saw that the arguments adduced by my right hon. friend made an impression ou the house with which it was not easy for that right hon.. friend to grapple. (Hear.) The right hon. gentleman ,derides. the appeal of my right hon. friend to precedents, and will not condescend to argue the question, he says, on so low a ground., But the question of precedent was introdnced by the right hon. member for Car lisle in his weighty and matured speech in the early part of the evening, and the right hon. gentleman went so far as to admit, that though adverse to decide the question upon this ground, many precedents, and those good ones, might have considerable effect upon its decision by the house and by the country. (Hear.) My right hon. friend, however, complied with these conditions. .He quoted many precedents, and they'were good ones—some of them-the. right honourable member for the University oven admitted to be relevant to the issue. Some, however, there were to which that right hon. gentleman objected. I will give him one that has not been alluded to in this debate. It is that which occurred in the year 1779, when Lord Cornwallis was examined before a committee of the whole house. What was the opinion of Mr. Burke on the subject, as given in the "Annual Register" for that Tear? Mr. Burke said this committee produced no great effect because of the bustle and confusion which prevaild in the house during its continuance. This shows how incon venient that high authority considered a committee of the whole house in a similar case to the present. Select commit tees on analogous subjects granted by the house were not one or two—their name was legion. Ido not, any more than the right lion. gentleman, desire to put this question on the low ground of precedent, though I could adduce plenty of prece dents, in the time of Charles 11., for instance, when the con duct of the war by the Duke of York was made the subject of inquiry. They are to be found in the reign of Queen Anne ; in the reigns of George 11., George 111., and during the regency. But Ido not place this question simply upon the ground of precedent. I say that had there not been precedents to meet the present ease , , it would have been s am de e m a an p de re d ce a d r e e n o t f . Thetthhes the gravestd uty o circumstances f character.t he un House d eo A rf w fi C ife ingl a hm rm oinn y gs h u as itrY6 disappeared, and the chief Minister of the Crown in this houi,e and the right hon. d ol l! n ve i nrl remedy. gentlemen who have seceded from the Government tell us— in possession of all the secrets of the Cabinet, as they must be—that the cause of all these disasters is to them inexpli cable. (Hear, hear.) If, therefore, there were no precedent for a committee, such as that which this house has, it would haveformed be been n p o l u v r e 0d e duty, n t. twuhn(ieHtda Universityee rar,presenthedisastersai..) osof And, circumstances,uonxdnhela has unparalleled di notwithstandingnat dos indulged, tl h go a e v bd e ar g ume nt pe i o n p w le h o i f eh E t a h g e la ri n g d h , t n h o o t n i . n ge a n m tle o i m a wmh l o l iaelnnlm t h ta itaehoywfer relyaepmyfia always fm e s euimoebpinee:n:nt that iouoatrftttihn that t the eo a it was the duty of their representatives—their inexplicable in their origin to ltrnheeset o statesmen oof t h fi e r i r s oft existence, duty—to uhte y t 0 day, inquire into the cause of those disasters. (Hear, hear.) " I am for inquiry," says the light hon. gentlemen, " but not for inquiry by a committee of the whole house," Well, lam might, under ordinary Shelli;ilsl, that t t u t n o d w ei h . a o t rd d in o a e r s y t e h i a r t . perfectly ready to admi in t smgrt t rae h an a ntit t to y n ou Oil"' likely to be more cir cumstances, obtiin a mode of in satis factory than that which is proposed by the hon. and learned may claim the function of exam member, the member for in the present • state of , and even of recommending admissionicanunicir cumstances, exam ining tdevisingai nncteo s a m in : ha : ea : a t affairs, the country has no confidence in the Government. It is the conviction' that no sincere and efficient relief could be afforded by the present Administration—l make no distinction in that respect between the past and pre sent Government—(hear, hear)—it is that conviction that no efficient inquiry could be conducted under the auspices of Ministers that caused the people to rely upon their own House of Commons for redress and assistance. (Hear, hear.) The most laboured part of the argument of the right hon. gentleman, the member for the University of Oxford, referred to the names upon the list of the committee. He seems to be familiar with all the sentiments and opinions of the hon. members whose names are on that list, and he says, quoting the opinion of a great authority, that nothing can be done effectually unless the individual who is employed is in favour of the task which he is engaged to execute. That was considered—but only by his friends—as an unanswerable argument. But does it occur to the right hon. gentleman that that argument, if good for anything, is as much opposed to . the appointment of every committee which is appointed to consider the various subjects with which this house has to deal, as it is to the appointment of that which is under our consideration. Why, there is not a committee upon any sub ject which does not consist of many d istinguished members who cannot be supposed to be favourable to the subject matter of inquiry. (Hear, hear.) Is the right hon. gentle man prepared to go the length of saying th a t the nomination of all such committees should be resisted 1 We have heard many sneers at Parliament, and we are told that the Con stitution is in danger because the noble lord at the head of the Government has, within the present week, changed the whole policy of his Cabinet. But, in my opinion, if you wish to deal a blow against Parliamentary authority you can not do so more effectively than by impressing upon the coun try that the elements of a Parliamentary committee are not adapted to the effective fulfilment of their purpose. The noble lord opposite declared but a week ago this committee to be unconstitutional, upon which he is to-night prepared to stake the existence of his Government. The noble lord has again favoured us with a flattering view of impending peace. I believe that if pease can be achieved upon honour able terms the noble lord will, in his endeavour to secure it, meet with , the support of this house and of the country. All I can say is, ' that I hope the instructions which the noble lord has given to his late noble colleague the member for the City of London are conceived in a more intelligible spirit than the communications which, upon behalf of Lord Derby, he had with the right hon. gentleman the member for the University of Oxford—(hear, hear)—or than those upon which he an nounced to his late colleagues, that the basis of his Govern ment was to be formed. If the noble lord the member for the City of London has gone to Vienna to be the promoter of peace with foregone conclusions in favour of war, it is not satisfactory, I apprehend, for the country. I can, there fore, only hope that the instructions whi c h th e no bl e lord the member for t City of . Lond on h as rece i ve d li r have been couched i a franker sp i r it , an d ex pressed in more Intel giblo language than the condi tions which he made, apparently., to bo the basis of his Government —(hear)—, Government which, after ten days has experienced a disastrous blow at a period when the noble lord assures us it was most important that this country should have an effective administration. (Hear,) But now the noble lord does not find himself in a condition, at the conclusion of one short week, and after all his exertions and combinations, cannot come down and assure the country that his Sovereign possesses at this moment a complete body of responsible advisers. (Cheers.) Mr. GLADSTONE,--I rise to explain ono or two points referred to in the speech of the right hon, gentleman who has just sat down. One of those points relates to the ques tion of precedents, and upon that stilaject I merely wish to say that what I stated was, that all the precedents which Were quoted 4 the 1'4 1 4 Mat iationm the ratiml?..! for Midhurst failed entirely in this essential particul a r__ that they related to operations which had been drawn to a close; whereas the essence of this inquiry is that it is about to take place into operaions which are still in pro gress. The other point upon which I wish to offer an ex planation is a matter of much more importance. lam afraid I have been unfortunate -in, -expressing myself India tinetly upon it, otherwise my Meaning must have been misapprehended by the right hon. gentleman opposite. The right hon. 'gentleman has, of course, a perfect right to put whatever construction he pleases upon any statementmade by me or by any other hon. member ; but, as far as I recol lect, I never stated to the house that my noble friend at the head of the Government told me that he would form his Go- - vernment upon the basis of resistance to this committee, or that I asked for any stipulations from him upon that subject. I never made it the subject of stipulation at all. I never mentioned it to my noble friend until I had written to him to acquaint - him that, after the communications we had had respecting his foreign policy, I was ready, at his desire, to accept office under his Administration. Subsequently, I had the pleasure to serve him, at the time when I completed the arrangements to take office. I then inquired of my noble friend what his intentions were with with reference to the committee. I never doubted him, and never thought of askiiig (rein him any stipulations upon the subject. (Hoar, hear.) He then stated his intentions continued to be the same as they had been. (Hear, hear.) • Sir G. GREY said that the explanation which had just been made by his right honourable friend bad to a great ex tent relieved him from the necessity which he felt of offering some observations to the house in reply to the speech of the right honourable gentleman opposite. There were in that speech repeited assumption s , w ith ou t any ev id ence or proo f, that his noble friend nea r hi m h a d f orme d hi s G overnmen t• upon .en basis u t o h u e s of opposition theto the ln o p t i r proposed o soefd the - committee. honourableA s a member of Lord Aberdeen's Governm en t h e h a d o ff ere d a s and learned member for - Sheffield. Subsequently, when ho had become A member of the Cabinet of his noble friend, he bad come to the'ebn'clusion that in the position of unprece dented difficulty in which the country- was placed, it became the duty of the Government to withdraw any further opposi tion to the . appointment of the committee in question. He should, however, most emphatically deny that the Govern ment of his noble friend had been based upon the principle of opposition to the nomination of the committee. The basis of the Administration of his noble friend was the vigorous pro secution of the war, by all the means at his disposal, and with all the energy which Parliament might enable him to exercise, in order thus to secure at the earliest period possible a just and honourable peace. When he (Sir George Grey) had op posed the appointment of the committee, he had taken that course not because he wished to deny the right of Parlia. ment to make an investigation into the condition of our army if they thought fit, but because he entertained a deep sense of the inconvenience which must result to the administration of -the country from its nomination. He had felt that upon that ground he was justified in his resistance to the motion of the hon. and learned gentleman the member for Sheffield. Hon. members in that house had voted for that motion froni various reasons ; some because they were honestly desirous of inquiry ; others because they regarded the motion as a vote of censure upon the Government. The motion had been carried, and the Administration of Lord Aberdeen had then followed the only course which was open to them to pur sue. They had tendered. their resignations to her Majesty, and those resignations had been accepted. In resigning the office which he had the honour to hold he certainly enter tained but a very remote conception that he should again be called upon to take a part in the Government. He, however, had found it, in consequence of circumstances which subs°. 1 quently occurred, to be his duty to accept office under his noble friend the member for Tiverton. Lord Derby had failed in his endeavour to form an Administration. The hon. gen tleman opposite had, it was true, stated that Lord Derby had not said he could not form a Government, but that he could not form a sufficiently strong Government. It was quite ob vious, of course, that an hon. member in that house - might collect around him a dozen gentlemen and call them a Govern ment. The Pueblo lord the member for Lend= had been sub. ' sequently entrusted by her Majesty with the formation of a Government. He had also failed, and then'his noble friend near him had taken upon himself the duty of forming an Ad ministration. • He (Sir G. Grey) should most gladly have de clined-to become a member of that Administration, not from any want of confidence in his noble friend, but because he deemed it to be extremely desirable that, under the circum stances in which the country was placed, a totally new Govern ment should be constructed. The country had become impor tunate for the formation of a Government, and -he had felt that he would not have acted consistently with his duty in withhholding his assistance from his noble friend. That 1 being the case, it became obvious that it would have been an insult to the house that the new Government should at tempt to rescind the appointment of a committee which by a solemn vote they had resolved to appoint. He admitted that he had entertained a hope, when the Government was recon structed, and when his noble friend had announced his policy, that the house might of its own accord have acquiesced in the abandonment of the committee. The leaders of the party op posite, in that and the other house, had announced their ap proval of the motion for the appointment of that committee, and the country had taken up the 'proposed inquiry as one which it was most anxious to prosecute. Under these cir cumstances, he was not ashamed to say that he believed the Government which had been recently formed could have at tained no useful object by attempting to stein the tide of public opinion upon the subject, and by prolonging the un certainty and the confusion of a protracted ministerial crisis. He denied altogether the proposition of his right hon. friend the member for Carlisle (Sir J. Graham), that the determina tion of the house to nominate that committee and to prosecute that inquiry was a renewal of the vote of censure on the late Government. Certainly no vote had been given, and no opi nion had been expressed by that ' house of a want of con fidence in the Government over which his noble friend (Lord Palmerston) presided. The house, on the contrary, had voted willingly, and cheerfully, all the estimates neces sary for a vigorous prosecution of the war, and he thought that there was nothing in the conduct of the house to justify her Majesty's Ministers in abandoning their posts at the pre sent crisis. He deeply deplored the secession of his three right hon. friends ; he knew how difficult, or perhaps impos sible, it would be to replace them by men of equally eminent ability; and he thought it was not unreasonable that the_ Government. should be allowed a few days more to fill the places which they had vacated. The right hon. gentleman the member for Buckinghamshire had said that a week had already elapsed since these vacancies had take place. (Cries of " no," from the Opposition benches.) Ho said that the right hon. gentleman had distinctly made that statement, but it was manifestly unfounded, as two days only had since elapsel; and the house.) culd not, he thought, foal surprised that the new appointments to those offices had not yet taken place. The right hon. gentleman ought to be the last man to taunt his noble friend at the head of the Government for not having been able to find at ()IWO thhe persons to fill those vacancies, after Lord Derby had himself declared . . that he could not find men of sufficient experience or capacity—(Cries of " no," from the Opposition benches, followed by loud cheers from the Ministerial side of the house)—on his own side of the house for the construction of a Government. He for one found no reason for with drawing from the administration of his noble friend, to whom he felt it his duty to continuo to tender his humble, but earnest support. (Hear, hear.) Mr. MUNTZ protested against their being guided by pre cedents in that case. They had no precedent for the almost total loss of an army of upwards of 50,000 men in the space of a few months; and neither, he thought, ought they to look for a precedent to guide them in their inquiries into so un paralleled a calamity. The motion was then agreed to. The SPEAKER then began to put seriatim the names of the proposed members of the committee, and the names of Mr. Roebuck, Mr. H. Drummond, and Sir J. Ellington were agreed to without any discussion. The name of Colonel Lindsay having nextll 3en put, Mr. R. PHILLIMORE objected to their proceeding with the appointment of the committee at that advanced hour. He thought it the more unreasonable that they should then come to a final decision on the subject, as the duties of the proposed committee had not yet been defined, and no one knew whether its inquiries were or were not to be pro spective. Mr. WALPOLE said he believed that nothing but public inconvenience could result from a prolongation of that discus sion. He could inform the hon. and learned gentleman, that, according to the rules of the house, as he understood them, a committee, without an express order from that house, must confine its inquiries to events which had taken place pre viously to its appointment. air T. ACLAND continued to disapprove of the motion for instituting that inquiry ; but he felt that no good effect could be gained by a prolongation of that controversy. Sir H. WILLOUGHBY said he did not see any disad vantage that could. result from the appointment of the committee, if it were to confine its labours to an inquiry into the conduct of those departments in this country whose business it was to supply the wants of the army. But he felt persuaded that any attempt on the part of the committee to enter into military matters in the Crimea would be productive of the most fatal consequences to the public service. Lord PALMERSTON—In answer to the hon. baronet I must state it is not my intention to propose any limitation to the inquiries of the committee. It appeared to me that the:first:and main object to be attained was to appoint a com mittee consisting of gentlemen in whose discretion and judg ment the house might repose confidence. I think the selec tion which has been made is one which does entitle the committee to the confidence of the house. (Hear, hear.) I think the names are unobjectionable ; and I, for one, am prepared to repose in these gentlemen suf f icient confidence to think that- in the pursuit of their inquiry they will not travel into the delicate or dangerous topics which have been adverted to in the course of the debate. It does not ap pear impossible to pursue this inquiry into the condition of our army without travelling into those questions which affect our relations with:our gallant allies. It would be very un fortunate, therefore, if they should inquire into any subject or matter which might tend to wound the feelings of our allies ;- and I think it cannot be too strongly impressed on the gen tlemen to abstain from any inquiry that would have so calamitous a result. If they pursue with proper discretion their inquiry, they will satisfy Parliament without incurring any evil, and, therefore, it is not my intention to propose any limitation. (Hear.) Mr. ROEBUCK—It is not my intention to move any in structions to this committee, for I think the words of my motion do limit the inquiry of- that committee. The words are that they should " inquire into the condition of our army before Sebastopol, an& into the conduct of those departments of the Government whose duty it has been to minister to the wants of that army." Now, it appears to me that these words are definite, they explain themselves ; and such being the case, I think the committee require no instructions. The house, when it selects a committee, generally has some confi dence in that committee, and perhaps the house will allow me to say a few words upon the selection which has been made in this instance. I have to apologise to the gentlemen whose names I used in the first instance for not being able to carry out my original intention. I found however that those names did not meet with the confidence of this louse, and I therefore felt it my duty to place myself immediately in communication with the noble lord at the head of the Go vernment. The result of my communication with him is, that I have been enabled to present to the house a committee but r a rp ti o ll n , a prerogativet rea in which I think they have confidence — ( hear) —and if that committee deserves the confidence of this house it requires no instructions. I perfectly agree with everything said respect ing the difficulty in the way of t his in q uiry. But I think the difficulty justifies and calls forth inquiry. The difficulty is asto closely trench upon possibleasn; all th a t n otwithstanding, wo have before u s a n arm y m e lt ing away ; we have the peop le of this countr y demandin g in q uir y; glkn w ow hie w h e w are ee t u r g en h e t h n in e g t and I believe we should not satisfy the desires of our consti tuents did we not grant the inquiry I have asked for. (Hear.) It is on these grounds, and on these grounds alone, that I h av e ventured upon this delicate and, I will say, dangerous investigation. No inquiry, indeed, could be more delicate and dangerous ; for, depend upon it, you have a people to satisfy who will not be satisfied until they have probed to the bottom the circumstances which have caused the destruction of the finest army that ever left the shores of this country.' Mr. H. BAILLIE said he would - not move his instruction at that late hour. But he hoped that , the committee would be effectual and searching.' _ The names of Mr. -Roebuck, Mr. ' Drummond, Sir J. Pak ington, and Colonel Lindsay, as members of the - committee, were then put and agreed to. ..-4 On the sum of Mr, 1490 rd WI% 112611194-7 Mr. R. PHILLIMORE movod that Sir G. Grey be substi ,uted. The SPEAKER.—The hon. gentleman mast give notice of its amendment. (A laugh.) Mr. Layard's name e was then agreed to, as also was that of Mr. Ellice. On the name of Lord Seymour, Mr. GLADSTONE.—I think I heard the noble lord say that unless some distinct instructions were laid down for the guidance of the committee he would not act on it. Mr. DISRAELI.—If the noble lord will act as chairman of the committee, I am sure it would be worth all the instruc tions that eonld be given. (Hear, hear.) The name was then agreed to, as also were Sir G. Lewis and General Peel. On the name of Mr. Bramston, Mr. CORRY moved the substitution of Captain Scobell, pursuant to notice. He thought one naval officer at least should be on the committee. (Hear, hear.) • The SPEAKER was about to put the question, when Mr. ROEBUCK observed that they could examine as many naval men as they pleased, therefore he did not see the ne cessity of substituting Captiin Scobell. (Oh, oh.) Lord PALMERSTON suggested that they should take the committee as it stood. Captain SCOBELL would prefer any other naval officer to himself. But, to examine harbour accounts—Balaklava, for instance—a naval officer was necessary. (Hear, hear.) Mr. WALPOLE thought the names might be taken as they stood, and, if necessary, on a future occasion, the name of a naval officer might be added, (No, no.) The SPEAKER put the question. The house then divided, when there appeared. For retaining the name of Mr. Bramston 101 For substituting Capt. Scobell Majority for Mr. Bramston's name On the motion that Mr. J. Ball be a member of the com mittee, Mr. BENTINCK opposed the motion, and gave notice that on Monday he should move that the name of Sir George Tyler be substituted, as it was indispensable that at least one naval officer should be on the committee. Mr. BERESFORD gave notice that he should, on Monday, move that Mr. Miles be added to the committee, as he was a connection of Lord Raglan ; and when the character of the noble lord was to be assailed in that way it was most essen tial that some person should be appointed who would watch over the interests of the noble lord. Mr. ROEBUCK said this was the first time he had heard a proposal to place a relative of a man in the dock on the jury. Mr. MILES trusted the hon. and gallant member would not persevere in his motion, as he had every confidence in the committee that had been appointed, and thought the charac ter of the noble lord perfectly safe in their hands. He thought it was the civil departments of the army that ought to be in quired into. Mr. NAPIER said, before a man was placed in the dock it was usual to prefer a bill of indictment. The house then divided, when there appeared-- For retaining the name of Mr. Ball 9B Against Majority The name of Mr. `Ball was then added to the committee. Mr. ROEBUCK then moved that the quorum be seven.— Agreed to. The orders of the day were then read over. The Consolidated Fund Bill went through committee. The Nuisances Removal Bill and Diseases Prevention Bill went through committee. The Army Service Act Amendment Bill was read a third time and passed. The Consolidated Fund (20,000,0001.) Bill was read time. a third The house adjourned at a quarter past two o'clock. P.ARLIAMENTARY DIVISIONS. HOUSE OF COMMONS.-FEB. 23. ARMY BEFORE SEBASTOPOL. Committee nominated :—Mr. Roebuck, Mr. Drummond, Sir John Pakington, Colonel Lindsay, Mr. Layard, Mr. Ellice, Lord Seymour, Sir George Lewis, and General Peel :—Motion made, and Question proposed, " That Mr. Bramstbn be one other Member of the said Com mittee:"—Amendment proposed, to leave oat the lame of " Mr. Bramston," and to insert the name of " Captain Scobell," instead thereoC:—Qttestien put, " That the name of ' Mr. Bramston ' stand part of the Question :" The House divided ; Ayes 101, Noes 80. AYES.-101. Acton, J. Godorich, Via. Baines, Bt. Hon. M. Goodman, Sir G. Baird, J. Gordon, A. Ball, J. Grace, 0. Baines, T. Greaves, E. Beamish. F. Grcgson, S. Biggs, W. Greville, Col, F. Bignold, Sir S. Grey, Sir G. Bonham-Carter, J. Hall, Sir B. tiouverie, Hon. E. P. Thistle, Alex. Brocklehurst J. Heneage, Geo. H. Brotherton, J. Herbert, H. Buckley, Gen. Horsman, E. Carnac, Sir J. Ingham, R. Cavendish, G. Keogh, W. Christie, Samuel King, P. Cowper, W. F. Kin;, J. Craufurd, E. 11. J. Lacon, Sir E. Deedes, W. Laslett, ST. Dent, J Layard, A. H. Duckworth, Sir J. T. Lace, T. Duncan, Viscount Lushington, C. Duncombe, T. Macgregor, Jas. Dunlop, A. Milner, W. Dunne, M. Mitchell, T. East, Sir J. Molesworth, Sir W. Ebrington, Viscount Monet, Viscount Egerton, E. Montgomery, Six G. Fitzroy, Hon. H. M•styn, T. Forster, C. Mulgrave, Earl of Forster, J. Murrough, J. Fortescue, C. North, F. Fox, W. 0 borne, R. Freestun, Col. Otway, A. French, F. Palmerston, Visct. BOES-80. Paxton, Sir J. reel, F. Perry, Sir T. Philipps, J. Phillimore. J. G. Ricardo, 0. Ricardo, P. Roebuck, J. Russell, F. C. Sawle, C. Scholefield, W. Seymour, W. Shelley, Sir J. Smith, W. Somerville, Sir W. Steel, J. Strait, E. Sullivan. Michael Talbot, C. Thompson, G. Thornely, T. Waterpark, Lord Whatman, J. Whitbread, S. Wilkinson, W. Williams. W. Willoughby, Sir H. Wilson, J. Winnington, Sir T. Rise. A. Wood, Sir C. T ELL ERS Hayter, W. Berkeley, G. Adderley, C. Anderson, Str J. Archdall, 31. Bailey, C. Ball, E. Barrow, W. Batavia, Capt T. Bent tick, G. Bowyer, G. Bramley- Moore, J. Bunbury, Capt. W. Chill, Smith Co a, it A 'wan. C. Disraeli. B. Duncan, G. D uncom be, I fon . A. Diricombe, lIon.W. Dundas, G. Da ['cc, C. Evelyn, W. Fitztierald, Sir J. Fitz;erald, W. Galwey, Sir W. Gardner, R. George, J. aladstone, Capt. J. Grogan, Edward Gwyn, 11. Herbert, Sir T. Hev wend. J. Hilyard, It. C. Hume, W. Keating, It. Kendall. N. Knatchball, W. F. Kniglaley, R. Knox, Col. Li. W. Land tot, W. Lennox, Lord A. F. Lidd,ll, 11. G. Macartnoy, G. M.tiann, J. Macgregor, John Macguiro, J. l'Af,lins, R. Mandeville, Pis. Miles, AV. Dr.W Montgomery, 11. At)ore, G. Isloirbray, J. Mailings, J. Naas, Lord Napier, J. New legate, C. North, Col. J. Oakes, J. O'Brien, P. Pakenham, Capt. E. Pak'ngton, Sir J. Parker, R. Percy, T. Minn, T. Pilkington, J. Sl - I , ly, F. Sinljth. Sir W. Spooner, R. Stanhope. J. Stsnley, Lord Taylor, Col. Tud way, It Tyler, Sir G. vanee, J. Vansittart, 0. Walpole, S. Whiteside, J. Woudd, Wyndham, Gets. TELLERS, Corry, 11. T. L. Packe, C. Motion made, and Question put—" That Mr. John Ball be one other Member of tie said Committee :"—The House divided ; Ayes 98, Noes 62. AYES-98. Alton, Joseph Grace, 0. Perry, Sir T. Anderson, t•ir J. Greville, Colonel F. Phi Ilimore, J. G. Baines, Rt. Hon. M. Grey, Rt. Hon. Sir G. Finn'', T. Baird, J. Hall, Sir Benjamin Pilkington, J. Boamish, F. Hustle. Alex. Ricardo, 0. Biggs, W. Ileneage, Geo. 11. Ricardo, S. II mlutin-Carter, J. Herbert, H. Roebuck:J. A. iSouverie, Hon. E. P. Heywood, J. Russell, F. C. Brocklehurst, J. Horstrian, E. Sadleir, John Brotherton, J. Ingham, R. Sawle, C. Buckley, Gen. Keating, R. Scholelleld, W. ..;'avendi , ll, C. C. Keogh, W. Scully, F. Cowan, C. King, J. Seymour. W. Cowyer, W. F. Laslett, W. Shelley. Sir J. Craufurd, E. H. J. Layard, A. H. Somerville, Str.W. Deedes, William Luce T. Steel, John Dent, John Dent Lushington, C. M. Strutt, Hon. E. Duckworth, Sir J. T.D. M'Cann,!J. Sullivan, Michael Buick!), George Milner, W. M. E. Talbot, C. Buncombe, Thomas Mitchell, T. A. Thomrson, G. Dunne, Michael Molesworth, Sir W. Thornely, T Ebrington, Viscoant Itionck, Viscount Waterpark, Lord Egerton, Edw. C. Montgomery, Sir G. Whatman, J. Fitz Gerald, Sir John Mo,tyn, E. Whitbread, S. Fitzroy, Henry Mulgraye, l? arl of Wilkinson, W. Forster, Charles Murrouga, J. P Willoughby, Sir H. Forster, John North, F. Wilson, J. Fortescue, C. S. O'Brien, P. Winnington, Sir T. Freestun, Colonel Osborne, R. Wise, A. French, Fitzstephen Otway, A. Wood, Sir C. Gardner, Ti. Palmerston, Viscount TELLERS. Goderich, Viscount Paxton, Sir J. Hay ter, W. Goodman, Sir G. Peel, F. Berkeley, G. NOES-62. Berkeley, G. . Gwyn, Dowel Worth, Col. J. Adderley, C. B. lllldyard, R. C. Oakes, J. Archdall, Capt. M. Dame, W. Packe, C. Bailey, C. Kendall, N. Pakenham, Capt. E Ball, E. King, J. Parker, R. Barrow, W. Knatchbull, IV. Percy, J. Bateson, 1. Knight, F. Smijth, Sir W. Beresford, Rt. Iln. W. Knox, W. S. Smith, W. Bowyer, G. Langton, W. li. P. G. Spooner, R. Bromley-Moore, J. Lennox, Lord A. F. Stanhope, J. Banbury, Capt. W. Liddell, 11. G. Stanley, Lord Carnac, Sir J. R. Macartney, G. Taylor, Colonel Child, Smith MacGregor, James Tad way, It. Cole, 11. A. Maguire. J. F. Vance, John Jorry, 11. T. L. Matins, Richard Vansittart, G. buncombe, Hon. A. Michell, William Whiteside, J. Duncombe, Hon.W.E. Montgomery, 11. L. Wyndham, Gen. Dundai, G. Moore, G. Evelyn, I. J. Mowbray, J. R. Fitzgerald, W. R. S. Mullings, J. R. Galway, Sir W. Naas Lord George, J. Napier, J. Grogan, Edward Newdegate, C. TELLERS. Bentinck, G. Mandeville, Visconti' THE LONDON GAZETTE OF LAST NIGHT• FOREIGN-OFFICE, FEB. 22. The Queen has been pleased to approve of Don Juan Martinez Villergas as Consal at Newcastle for the Queen of Spain. DOWNING-STREET, FEB. 21. The Queen has been pleased to appoint James Meleuedl tub, Charles Bradshaw-, Donald Kennedy, and Alfred Ross, Esquires, to be non-elective Members of the Legia• lative Council of the Colony of Victoria. BOARD OF TRADE, WHITEHALL, Fin. 21. The Right Honourable the Lords of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade and Plantations have received, through the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, a c•pY of a Despatch from her Majesty's Consul at Tahiti, en closing copy of a R egulation, recently i ss ued by the French Imperial Commissioner at Tahiti, directing that, from and a fter the Ist October, 1854, vesse l s car rying the British flag shall be treated in the ports of Tahiti and Moorea, upon the same footing as vessels under the French flag. WAR-OFFICE, Fin. 23. 4th Regiment of Dragoon Guards—gerjeant-Major Ed ward Harran to be Cornet, without purchase, Feb. 23. Coleistream Guards—Lieutenant Rowland Hill Gordon, from the 38th Regiment, to be Lieutenant and Captain, without purchase ; Walter Stirling, Gent., to be Design and Lieutenant, without purchase, vice Heneage, pro moted, Jan. 23. 18th Regiment of Foot—Lieutenant R. H. Jex Blake to be Adjutant, vice Wilkinson, promoted, Fob. 23. 221 Foot—Captain Win. Mills Molony, from the 83d Foot, to bo Captain, vice Jones, who exchanges, Feb. 23. 39th Foot--Lieutenant Charles Milligan to be Adju tant, vice Wilson, promoted, Feb. 23. 42d Foot—George William Cockburn, Gant., to be En sign, without purchase, Feb. 23. 44th Foot—To be Ensigns, without purchase—Robert Montresor Rogers, Gent., Feb. 21; George Cuthbertson Bower, Gent., Feb. 22; Charles Ford, Gent., Feb. 21 46th Foot—To be Ensigns, without purchase—Fran k Grieve, Gent., Feb. 20 ; William John Foster, Gent., Feb. 21 ; Henry James Hitchcock, Gent., Feb. 22 ; George Morland, Gent., Feb. 23. 47th Foot—To be Ensigns without purchase—Ernest Peaks Newman, Gent., Feb, 22; John Paigntou Mallet • Gent, Feb, 23 50th toot—To be Ensigns without purchase—Tomas Millard Benton Eden, Gent., Feb. 22; Charles Wynn Isdell, Gent., Feb. 23. 51st Foot—Lieutenant H. George Augustus Powill,'lrom the 15th Foot, to be Paymaster, vice Burney, appointed to a Depot Battalion, Feb. 23. 55th Foot—George Fortescue Parke, Gent., to be lfrn. sign, without purchase, Feb. 23. • 57th Foot—Edward Mills, Gent., to be Ensign, without purchase, Feb. 23. 62d Foot—Henry R. Johnstone, Gent., to be Ensign, without purchase, Feb. 23. 63d Foot—Lieutenant Edward Sutherland, from h►lf pay, Unattached, to be Lieutenant, without purchase, Feb. 23. _ _ 68th Foot—George Tumor, Gent., to be Ensign, with- out purchase, Feb. 23. 71st Foot—To be Ensigns without purchase—Stratton Boulnois, Gent., Feb. 22 ; Charles Tovia Cramer Roberts, Gent., Feb. 23. 77th Foot--Ensign M. A. Waters, from the 89th Foot, to be Lieutenant, by purchase, vice France, who retires, Feb. 23. To be Ensi gns w ith ou t purchase—Joseph Dooley, Gent., Feb. 21; Charles Bertram Saunders, Gent., Feb. 22 ; Sydney Smith, Gent., Feb. 23. 79:1 Foot—To be Ensign, without purchase—Neil C.impbell, Gent., Feb. 22 ; Douglas Alleyne, Gent., Feb. 23. 83:1 Foot—Captain R. C. Jones, from the 22(1 Foot, to be Captain, vice Molony, who exchanges, Feb. 23. BREVET. Major• General Simpson to have the local rank of Lieu tenant-General, while employed on the Staff of the Army serving in the Crimea, Aug.l6. Captain J. Forbes Bruce, of the 12th Regiment, Bom bay Native Infantry, employed on a particular service in Turkey, to hare the local rank of Major, while so em ployed, Feb. 23. HOSPITAL STAFF. To bo Acting Assistant-Surgeons —William Morris, Gent., Jan. 31 William Stockwell, Gent., Jan. 31; Stewart Aaron Lithgow, Gent., Feb. 3 ; William Sharp, Gent., Feb. 3; James Denholm, M.D., Feb. 4; Frederick Pratt, Gent., Feb. 12 ; George Wright, Gent., Feb. 13. MEMORANDA. -- The third Christian name of Ensign Fur neauv, appointed to an Ensigncy, without purchase, in the 14th Foot, on the 13th Fob., is Lynd and not Lionel, as previously stated. The Christian names of Quartermaster Trotter, of the Land Transport Corps, are James Cortlandt, and not C. V. Trotter, as previously stated. The promotion of Captain Walter C. E. Snow, of the 84th Foot, to bear date the 9th instead of the 19th of January, 1855, as previously stated. ADMIRALTY, FEB. 17. Corps of Royal Marines.—First-Lieutenant Edward McArthur, appointed Lieutenant and Quartermaster, vice Farmar, promoted. ADMIRALTY, FE8.19. CORPS OF ROYAL MARINES. Lieutexant-Colonel John Land to full-pay retirement of that rank, with the honorary rank of Colonel, under the provision of her Majesty's Order in Council, Sept. 13, 1854. FEB. 20. Lieutenant -Colonel Henry George Mitford to full-pay retirement of that rank, with the honorary rank of Colo. nel, under the provision of her Majesty's Order in Council, Sept. 13, 1854. FEB. 21. Captain and Brevet-Major Fielding Alexander Camp bell to be Lieutenant-Coleael, vice Land, retired. Captain George Evans Hunt to be Lieutenant-Colonel, vice Mitford, retired. First Lieutenant John Charles Downie Morrison to be Captain, vice Campbell, promoted. First Lieutenant Charles Reed Driver to be Captain, vice Hunt, promoted. Second Lieutenant Anthony Malone to be First Lieu tenant, vice Morrison, promoted. Second Lieutenant Melville Suther to be First Lieuten- ant, vice Driver, promoted. COMMISSION SIGNED BY THE QUEEN. 2d Regiment of Derbyshire Militia—Hugh Pearson, Esq., late of the West Essex, to be Adjutant, Feb. 16. COMMISSIONS SIGNED BY LORD LIEUTENANTS. County of Ross—Alexander George Mackenzie, Esq., to be Deputy Lieutenant, Feb. 19. Shropshire Regiment of Militia— Thomas Cholmondeley, Esq., to be Captain, vice Thud, resigned ; William Bean• clerc Powell, Gent., to be Ensign, Feb. 20. Warwickshire Militia—let Regiment—Ensign Riland Wolseley Oldham to be Lieutenant ; Ensign John Peter Wilson to be Lieutenant ; Henry Horace Eden, Gent., to be Ensign, Feb. 9. The Essen Rifles—Robert Wallace, Esq. (late Captain in the Madras Army), to be Captain, vice Smith, resigned, Feb. 16. ' Ist Somerset Regiment of Militia—Lieutenant Go.nsel Jebb to be Captain, vice Speke, resigned, Feb. 16 ; En• sign Richard Winsloe to be Lieutenant, vice Jebb, pro- scoted, Fob. 17. 2d or North Durham Regiment of Militia—Frederick Wallis, Gent., to be Lieutenant, vice De Pledge, resigned, Feb. 17. Durham Militia Artillery—Adjutant Robert William Ssott to serve with the rank of Captain, Fels. 19. Royal Bucks King's Own Militia—Henry Grattan Bushe, Esq., late 48th Regiment, to be Captain, vice Cap tain Charles Palmer, resigned ; Dunlop Cloag, Gent., to be Ensign. Dumfries, Roxburgh, and Selkirkehire Militia—Joseph Augustus Barrette, Esq., to be Lieutenant, Fob. 10. East Kent Regiment of Militia—Lieutenant Charles Alfred Mount to be Captain, vice Munn, promoted, Feb. Worcestershire Regiment of Militia—Joshua Oldham, Gent., to be Lieutenant, vice M. Brown Westhead, who retires ; John Grier, Gent., to be Ensign. Stirlingshire, &c. or 90th Regiment of Militia—Jona than Booth, Gent. (late Quartermaster 60th Rifles), to be Ensign ; James Frederick Bennett, Gent., to be Ensign. Edinburgh or Mid-Lothian Regiment of Militia—Chas. Stewart Murray, Gent., to be Lieutenant, vice Kennedy, resigned ; Charles Russell Currie, Gent., to be Ensign, vice Lyon, resigned; James Sinclair, Gent., to be Ensign, vice Orr, resigned ; William Starke, Gent., to be Ensign vice Bird, resigned, Feb. 12. let Regiment of the Duke of Lancaster's Owu Militia — Ensign Robert Knights to bo Lieutenant, Feb. 20. 2d Regiment of the Duke of Lancaster's Own DEMI& (Rifle Corps)—James Bilham, Gent., to be Ensign, Feb. 19. sth Regiment of Royal Lancashire Militia—Edward Jackson, Esq., M. 8., to be Surgeon, vice Coultate, re , signed, Feb. 19. Artillery Corps, Royal Lancashire Militia—Hill Charley Morro, Gent , to be Second Lieutenant, Feb. 19. Royal North Lincoln Militia—Edward Wm. Cadwalla der Lloyd, Gent., to be Lieut enan t ; Willi am !l ow l a nd Mitchell, Gent., to be Lieutenant, Feb. 12. 2d or Eastern ment of Norfolk Militia.—JohnTeafe, Esq., to be Captain, Feb. 9. 4th er Royal South Middlesex Regiment of Militia— Thomas Fitz Gerald Wintour, Gent., to be Ensign, vice Smyth, promoted, Feb. 10. Light Infantry Battalion of the Royal Sussex Militia— William Bridger, Gent., to be Ensign ; Percy Kirk, Gent., to be Ensign, Feb. 16. West Suffolk Regiment of Militia.—George Rust D , Eye, Gent., to be Ensign, Fels. 19. [The following appointment is substituted ,for that which appeared in the Gazette of the 26th Jan.] East Suffolk Regiment of Militia Artillery Corps.—John Cartes Paske, Gent., to be Second Lieutenant, Jan. 23. BANKRUPTS. James Speller, sail-maker, Wapping, to surrender, March 13, at half-past eleven, and April 4, at half-past twelve, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Graham, official assignee ; Atkinson, Abchurch-lane. George Cumming Stewart, draper, Hackney-road, to surrendr, March '2 and April 3, at eleven, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Graham, official assignee ; Lawrence, Plows, and Boyer, Old Jewry-chambers. Simon Oates, builder, Cambridge, March 3, at twelve, and April 13, at one, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Whit: , more, official assignee, Basinghall-street; Paxon, New Boswell-court, Lincoln's-inn. James Howell, builder, Judd-street, Brunswick-square, March 6, at half-past twelve, and April 12, at one, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Johnson, official assignee, Basing hall-street ; Watson and Sons, Fleet-street. Thomas Salmon, Kettering, ironmonger, Northampton shire, March 7, at half-past one, and April 4, at one, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Graham, official assignee ; Hodgson, Birmingham ; Sole, Turner, and Turner, Alder manbury. James King, licensed victualler, Birmingham, March 9 and 31, at twelve, at the Birmingham District Court. Bittleston, official assignee ; Hawkes, Birmingham. Jane Mary Bentley, grocer, Dadley, March 12 and 28, at , half-past ten, at the Birmingham District Court. Whit more, official assignee, Birmingham ; Bodington, Dudley. William Bowler, timber merchant, Lambeth, March 3, at two, and April 4, at ono, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Nicholson, official assignee, Basinghall-street ; Rixon and Son, King William-street, City. John Clench, timber dealer, Exeter, March 2 and 29, at the Exeter District Court. Blaze], official assignee, Exeter ' • Force, Exeter. Luiz Cauzie, hotel keeper, Bute-road, Cardiff, March 8, and April 3, at eleven, at the Bristol District Court. Miller, official assignee, Bristol ; Bevan and Girling, Bristol. John Moore, brewer, Skircoat, Halifax, March 9 and 30 at eleven, at the Leeds District Court. Young, official assignee, Leeds • G. and G. H. Edwards, Halifax; Bond and Barwick, Leeds. Hayden Sounds, wheelwright, Lincoln, March 6 and April 3, at ten, at the Birmingham District Court. Harris, official assignee, Nottingham ; Brown, Market Deeping ; James, Birmingham. John Henry Cheatham, lace manufacturer, Nottingham, March 6 and April 3, at ten, at the Birmingham Dis trict Court. Harris, official assignee, Nottingham Voopei Nottingham. Daniel Hearn, linen draper and laeeman Cheltenham, March 8, and April 3, at eleven, at the Bristol District Court. Acraman, official assignee, Bristol ; Prue's, Chel• tonham ; Abbot and Lucas, Bristol. George Cooper Rouse, baker, Doverceurt, Essex, Feb. 23, at one, and April 4, at eleven, at the Court of Bank ruptcy. Pennell, official assignee, Guildhall-chambers; Cree and Son, Yenlam-buildings, Gray's-inn ; Laurance, Ipswich. G e orge Richard Blackwell, marble mason, Cheltenham, March 8 and April $, at eleven, at the Bristol District Court. Miller, official assignee, Bristol; Pruen, Cheltew ham ; Abbot and Lucas, Bristol. James Twiner, draper, Hedge-row, Islington, March 5 and 30, at two, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Edwards, official assignee, Sambrook-court ; Lawrence, Flews, and Bowyer, Old Jewry-chambers. William Randle, miller, Cheltenham, March 8, and April 16, at eleven, at the Bristol District Court. Hutton, official assignee, Bristol ; Pruen, Cheltenham ; Abbot and Lucas, Bristol. William Westmore Cowherd Kirkham, m oney scrivener, Manchester, March 5 and 27 , at twelve, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Fraser, official assignee, Manchester; Boots, Manchester. Ralph Picketone and Ambrose Mayall, cotton-spinners, Ashton-under-Lynn, Lancashire, March 6 and April 3, at twelve, at the Manchester District Court. Fraser, official assignee, Manchester; Messrs. M essrs. Rowley a n d S on , an cheer. SCOTCH SEQUESTRATIONS. John Campbell and Sons, bleachers, Bowfield, Iten• frewshire. John Campbell, tailor, Glasgow. Robert Cross, merchant, Glasgow. SAM SLICK.—The new work by Sam Slick, bearing the attractive title of " Nature and Human Nature," is to appear in e. few days. In this production it is said that Judge Haliburton has surpassed allhisf ormer efforts, in wit., humour, character, and originality. There is perhaps no living writer so well acquainted with" tiuman Nature" as the inimitable Sam, and a better subject for his pen could not have been found.