The Sun. — London, England, 1855-03-02 00:00:00

---- ?BO D arder of Y the Ber g D~Y~ °SI 91 10 7ter l ; o l ( L 0 Ire 41 0r,d The P io n o l ,011 rho ts ' ,(A rge' reef o ld 1 1 , tor n ol ' . " - taelYi a. 0. 5 p er io.f s I , ..... luß ............. ...... *sb 10°11 P ;'B l 0 99 , ol d , o , 0 ill igt 16 4 foif P ,tat° 0 st7O r 0 1,, 00 0 a to to" 0 .4 14 b0„ 91 ;; ) g°,o s riv'd bi ll' o r co ecoa , 4 00 oL pre or. e 1$ P Of „ 0 1 1, n o t v JO roto cv • do , 0 0 1 04 ' 4 , borii s t tit to A' 1 0_ , .13g ° %Pr) fro- or , Yo° ° ,ll l .0 4 har z " 1 , 1 r.AV: hof' (1;4 obor° 0 9 11,Y rieerfo?E;.:, r;000, as , ' ; Feb' ,v d it) o `lo orosie o r do „, le; ,ef 111 ' :0 . 0 1 ",: • I ,h' ~ B a Js e;11 , Joe; 40,43, ;Daqetl 7; sr° A t of r:ib l jeo; k t. o3°' 9 , OP l e) iv 6, A ° n om , 4 0N y ABK ET AND COI/An:RC/A L INTELL IC P,NcE. l l: h eotton market at C L I Tv -Y e po r (l y e ° s r t C e L r day °CK was t/ k i e !a/Y. The sal es were 6,000 bales, all to the qtctolticluding 460 Pernam and Maranham, at tilp 100 Bahia at 6d. to 6d.; 150 Egyp it, std' 6 id. ; and 300 S ura t a t 3d. t o 31d. " ail waY Shares were firmer, and more in Age qua 4 4 Week s ' average rice of wheat is 70s. 6d. (114 Iter p th ' Ave be e Colonial Markets thi s wee k th e purchases liolderv,tl li mited, but owing to the firmness of tied.l4 prices generally h av e been well main ration the ha s b een quiet, but without alte leolihne rates. Of coffee, very little has been b ra f ta 1 , w ard publicly, but plantation Ceylon, ue week, w en t h eav i ly at auct i on. Ri ce 1 4; 41 at firmer values, spices are mostly th eC d tea, since the sales and the arrival of 4 , 1 414 4 ne ws, has been rather higher. Cochi ihid ru led firm, cotton inactive; also rum and htsga gales terminated with more spirit. Tal tothfortelen dull. Th e deliveries continue good, t ket a , Le tae use a n d export, but the stoc k s o f ktri4geles are still in excess o f l as t year . Th e 4%o:at*, owing to the unfavourable winds, kt il 8nl ail• 141 4 '4°7l of 4/11Y Shipping List made up by Mr. iii or the, Jerusal em C o ff ee -h ouse , g i ves th e the f ton nage on the b er th f or the present p 8 e t New South Wales at 7,749 ; for Port ; and f or Ad e l a id e 5 , 998 t ons . T o Port ter b iltu I , 4 strahan p or t s , as we ll as I n di a , & c ., th„ ' e t of vessel s are on th e li s t . u terp o Wtatement of Mr. Joseph Whitaker, of titil 0: it mentioned that during the past ott 6 l iPraents thence to Australia have Lit hbam , that freights have been dull. The )ih eitr, f passengers who left was last month I ti 1 : 1 1 4 t ua gat vessels of 9,496 tons. le t , l4 se done in American Securities has 1 t1 ) at the following rates e elk:P° P r Per Cent t k te g Redeemable. Per Cent. Nt eB . per Cent. B onds 1862... 98 9 9 1 Fittt 6 Cent. Boucle 1868...106 107 •.. 3 6 . Inscribed k i leyr,Z l l . l 5 1)E31: C e nt •......'....1867-1868...108 106 80 mitt s 6 ,Per Cent. Bonds 1877...• 80 82 6, l', per Cent. (Sterl. Bonds) 1868-102 103 I;k&Lltsperl',9ellt. (St er li ng Bonds) ••• 91 92 5 p er (Sterl. Bonds) 1858 - -tt 6 k.ent. (Sterling Bonds) —lBBB 85 86 ( rt Per Cent. Bo n d s 1880.., 87 88 k ly tt klio r , 6 Deit , cettLOANs OF CITIZi 1865... 83 1) 0. 44 6 Per ... 1874... 78 do. • B 1884... 72 0 0 4 do. Nyptiv RAILROAD BONDS. 1875... 68 70 p o t j,_ p er p!..Rer Cent. kktra t ) let Mort g a g e (Ster -1860 92 94 lb 4, 4 , 4 6 • _ lt h ta 4 k And Erie R• Rd. 6p. Cent 1880... 8"/ •7 per Cent. Ist Mort )rtt, 89 . .................. .1868-1869...100 101 kn.... rle 7 Per Cent. 3d Mort- 1883... 81 83 ........ kldr i e 7 ,P. 6; . . 6 ..... 68 70 N ('- kid P. Co u nt: jonvertible 1871... 74 k . ... ... 7 . per Cent. Income ffi 76 78 k t „thet T elal return gives the imports of tallow tivilhited Kingdom from Russia last year at 4,1%3 butt remarkable falling off compared d 4,31 1 4 the supply from Prussia increase 111%Mah to 2 53,955 cwts. The same increase k k ki ll ' w ith rspect to hemp, linseed, and Il i k :klt illustration. of the working of the co llat ete ti Z. 41 11 94e ace lk trket has taken a start upwards, in efia Of Pa tti I kle th e b y of the news from Berlin of the k re k i,. el tetit n 'taperer of Russia, but likewise to itkaziket"witig to the rumours afloat thatthe a r t e . fi t o f rea loua than ever for belief in the s eohi a Peac e Nt A L -1,„ • Upon what honourabl obtained while Sebastopol. reemteaTins fo l a i. l4 41. q Persons find it d a iffi nd cult sin t c o e kh, • t Ave been 914 1) 912 ta i . llBfe r• The opening prices for ac -141'7 6 91 1 ; they have sinc3 been as high irk ) 1 : 141 d are 011 The New Three per • 1 / 4 1, e been 91i an d 9 2 1 , an d t h e R e d uce d k Lank Stock h as b een 2132 to 215. East 1 b ,,"%k i s a t 220. E xchequer Bills are Os. to I ttlndia Bonds 10s. to lls. premium. Ex bonds have been 9 9i , to 4 • Securities have been steady generally, P t o 11 , 1 0 1, t brisk. Turkish Bonds have risen to i t tli tgti,,q; Spanish D e f erred are 17 to 18 . b it tO h h ave been done at 21t. Mexican Stock TT o 4 i)ei E quador at 3i ; and Grenada at 15k. T," gib ‘tk c tt.ts. bring 93i. Y a from Madrid infornl us of the 6 1:4 1) h olders having had their ▪ claims met tli4ll4P.tetlial:clBl gon 0t O f 3 per cent. stock in the Bank of as collateral security, the Bonds tt. )q.l foll o a nother year. , 14 1 2:;''Or e ,g are the nominal prices of foreign t Deferred Bonds, 5 to 6 ; Mexi ilt o v eate.: -CoXt; Peruvian, 70 to 71 ; ditto Three O tto la* 11Four , (le 5 1; Portuguese Four per Cents., S p~ i mesi an Five per Cents., 96 to 98 ex d ; ht; 4ll I\iL aild 'a-Ralf per Cents., 87 to 89 ; 104 8 7 Deferred, 174 to 18 ; ditto Three th q8444. 1;e 6 .!° ; ditto Certificates, to 5; %IV 1 1 / 41 ' *to 41. kt ill '6tt Way Share Market has moved up with and a larger business is doing I 011 or eq. rates. Caledonian are 10s. higher, iatih4nties have risen 4, Great Western I h to n 3 d Midland, Sout t otti a t o "t , e , r t -2t04, an 11011114;i o rth-Eastern in proportion. also.Tbeand h ave been mostly rather dearer C joits are up Ito and East Indian .t 4. ipkt . ve been at 2, and Royal Danish a t h ,Nt h Nk - g Cliceil ail a rea are supported, and the Banks e ° ll a Companies are quiet. -FVNDBTHIS DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK. f4k (F rom the Official Let.) t i ltk Business done ....... . ....... ...... 215 : t 4 3 / 4 t ; Z i (ll B l c er Annai; ........ 3 4 e n Annt . titie s 9 IR 13 V i C 44 ti 't nin les LNI R ao I.'l. Expire sth Jan , 1860 4 516 Nitelk eat s. Expire 10th Oct., 1859 44 ttitt,%444:Ciitiiio ..... 220 10 11 c e tS 4 e t e £lOOO 14 gth March 914 0 ... 1 " 8 t 2id. 6 9 .................................. Ottl4llor 1858• . ........ . ° 3O 1859 t 1044", to nti °REIGN FUNDS AT ONE O'CLOCK. el k : ............. . per Cent I k 4i' t h IcZ Ash T o t. 3 ,l 3 e " r i t t nt 2oi 110, e ' e rrecl, 3 per Cent. 174 18 Q ll l4 l `c't th s ' 4 6 Per cent "th, l Aer ..ecount 76$ 3 Nitt '• ........... 76 4 1: d e u 3 i Per Cent. tpleLi ttße „on the a b ove payable in London. bet 0: 4 4 Per Cent. 12 Guil... Certifieates DiHALF-PAST TWO. tt, lB . oa9lA 13 1:1 A econnt I----`•••••!--... '4 o4 i, ; 140, ktiat 14 th e ON ELECTION.—A general meeting of the tit. 4,11, the I city of. London was held yesterday after -1/P of e, • 11 in r Tl 4 °o Tavern, Bishopsgate-street, to take itNNt,.t4otdoeverence to the approaching election ._ the _ V 4, 11 .4t i0n Al' T he meeting was called by the Liberal ON reseott 810eiation, the president of which, Mr. ii'lti4titteed to. Was called to the chair. Resolutions kii 4 l: ll j i affirming that it was of vital importanc s e N to tr e r,;,.'-‘,ussell should be re-elected, inasmuch P a 1 , ) hs ,' , l Q l o t i , e ted, it would be a fatal blow to Lord a - ~111;1 ; trcla , ,, "riment. 1:4, 1 . ' l ll4l l 4 t the nieeti, g ,-. tad h om e nrcber f ' fees were disallowed, the tea f or 0 coroners of Middlesex magistrates, ki l k k held accounts deeminz that the inquests t. eo " "eessarily A. strong . communication 4 t 4 ,,t i ) , 4 ,,, e8 , N v re : l -1 e ,r A edford,.on the subject of these dis k 'ay '"eir i le ad. O N 4 fte r4,z, E' of the Colonial Gold Company held yes.: tl i cll ltlk.clop te ° ; l the report and accounts were 13 1 - I : T 3. e ll 1 1 v et there„ :. it appears that operations in 1\ Rt;at iti , r e being steadily proceeded with, and %A ,Drete„,ProtPect of success.. The whole of the Ae k Moot obtained amounts to about 7,0001.,, of th, , h.,_ i lle k Nll . l )eri:f en the produce of alluvial washings tp, Jtn.„ T TAL 14 ,,, %.. 11 to• V 1 1 43 h e •-- ALADLLE. DOUDET.—On Wednesday t. 41104:late,' , leadlle. Doudet of the charge of t hi? 11 4 1.41 n . 1, '"he remains in custody on other charges. t t Z 4ilo rej k inl isi .; l as to l if ., Pay the expenses. n e a,_ l :aline 1 -7,Lltil lAD RAlLWAY.—Traffic return for -444 w eek ' ll 25, 1855 R 3,96.3 4 7 1441. last year 3,791 17 9 I% 1 4 i aat ........-.---- -". In 1 7 S ti ARE MARKETS. (Thl3 DAY.) RAILWAYS. RAUMAY4. Closing Prices yesterd,y. B4slneis flOll , this day. .hr. 100 Aberdeen .. Ambg,. Nottng Bost and Eastn. Junct... Belfast & Ballymena. Birming. Wolverh. Stour Va11ey........ Birkenhd. Lancsh. Clieshire Junct Do. Chesh. & Birk., £5O and £25 Cons. Do., ...... Blyth &Tyn origiva £25 (issd. at £45 Bristol and Exeter Caledonian. Cat marthen and Car digan Chester di Holyhead Cork and Bandon Cork, Black, & Pass Cornwall Orloff Junction Dublin&BelfastJunc. Dundee Perth&Abel deco Junction Do. New....... East Anglian Eastern Counties Eastern Union, .A Stock ...... De., B. Stock Do., New A East Lancashire Edinburgh & Glasgow Ediub. and Peebles Edin.Prtti &Dundee Forth & Clyde June Furness Do. Extension Glarsgow & S. Western Great Northern Do., A. Stock Do., B. Stock Gt. Sth. &West.(lre.) Great Western Do. Stour Val. Rail Gua. Stk Irish South-Eastern Lancaster & Carlisle Do., Thirds Do. New Thirds Lancash.andYorksh Do., Fifths Do., Wst. Riding Un Liv.Crsby.&Southpt London & Blackwal Gond. Bright & S.Cst. Loud. and N. Westn. Do. Fifths Do.lol. Sb.,M&B , Do. Eighths London andS. Westn Do., £5O Do., £4O Lndrry& Col erain‘ Lndndrry. & Ennisk. Aanch.Shcf.& Line' Do. Shares, No. l Do., Man. & Lin. Un. Midland Do. Birmng. &Derb; Nlidld. G. West. (Ire, Do. Half Shares Newcastle & Newmkt.BuryExten. l Nwpt.Aberg. &Hrfd Newry & Enniskillei Newry Warrenpoini and Rostrevor Norfolk Northn.Counties Un. North British North Devon, No. 1 Do., No. 2 00., A A Deferred Do., B Guaranteed N. Eastern—Berwick Do. do. Extension Dodo. G.N.E. Purch Do. Leeds Do. York North London Do. New £lO I.&S.Wstrn.,Hamp• stead, and City Jn., 4 North Staffordshire.. North Western ;, N. & S. West n.June. Nuneaton, Hinckley and Leicester.. (hford, Worcester,& Wolverhampton L'ortsmouth Scottish Central Scottish Midland ihrewsby. & Herefcl Shropshire Union ,outh Devon loath Eastern south Wales 4. Yrksh. dr Riv. Dun Do ' , tallies, Wok. &Was Stockton & Darlia itv-Iton & Hartlepl l'aff Vale . Do. £lO shares Do. Pref., No. 1 .Names Haven Docl and Railway Vale of Neath Waterfl. & KilkenT Waterford &Limeric 1. West Cornwall West Eud of London and Crystal Palace West London Wimbledn Sc Croydon 191. - 20} 41 - 84 - 8i 13 - 12, 16 - 17 7,1 - 61(1 90 - ti 2 62i -62 i ... - ... 121 - 130 - 2i - 7 13,E - 14, 1 2 11 -11 i 29 - 4 31 20 - 22 70 72 55 57 2d par 19i -; 2(4 70 - 721 89i - 90 1 •70 - 72' 126 - 128' 88 - 1 0 631 - 631 60 - 62 70 75 5 7 5 7 74a =1 741 7 7i 97 99 974- 971 id g - 1 - 8. • 83 1 r 7 I 231 - 231 NI - 8. 67 - 67' 10 - 4i par 11 9 11 21 48 - 50 3i 3A 28 ... 29 8 10 11 7i 71 - 72 7i 6i , ' 4 12 —1 2 t 49 —t) 49 E 0 d par - 1 4 3 4 1 1 6 .1 d par 29 - 31 99 - 101 64 - 66 46 - 48 12. -- 131 1 59 - 60 28f - 28;,1 4 - 2 2 - 1 37 - 39 36 - 4 16 37 3A - 4 23 - 5i - Gl 6 . - 7 FOREIGN. Antwerpdatuttercuau Belgian Eastu. June Beziers to Graissessae Bombay, Baroda, and Central India,Serip l Central of Italy Demerara Dijon and Besancon Dutch Rhenish l 'Eastern of France I Do. New East Indian Do. E7lension Do. 4.Jj p. c. Bds., pay '57, convertible Do. do. do., '59, do Gd. Tk of CanadaA. is Do. St. Lawrence 8/ Atlantic do. Do. Cert. of Deben., con. into Stk. till '63 Do. Comp. 6 p. c., do. Gt. Central of France Gt. Indian Peninsula Do. New 5 per cent. Great Luxembourg Constituted Shares Do. Obligations. • ..... Gt. Western of Carta& Shares Do. Bds., payablo's7, with option till '55.. Do. do., '62, p. '56... Do. do., '76, p '60... Do. do., '73, without option Hamilton & Toronto Do. 6 per cent, Lake Const. & Basle Lucca dx PistojEL 5 p.c. pref Lyons and Gen( )va Lyons & Mediturran.l Madras • • • Do. New Maria Antonia , , Do. do. New Namur & Liege (vritl‘ interest) Do. (ex interest) _ _ Northern of Frai tee. D 0.201. Shs.late G har leroi and Erquel ines guar. 3R p. e. & red. at 22,i/. dur. 88 yrs. from 1 Jan. 1851._ Do. 201. 3 p. a :Bds. (fray.B.&Ams.As.) Norwegian Trunk Pref Paris and Lyons Ditto Bonds . ...... ' Paris and Orleans Paris and Rouen._ ParisCaen &Cherbrg. Rouen and Havre Royal Danish Royal Swedish Sambre and Meuse_ Do. 54. p. cent. Prof. Southern of France St. Andrew's and Quebec (A) West Flanders Do 5i per c. Prof._ Western of France._ West. of Switzerland Wiesbaden Zealand JOINT-STOI Aust ralasi a Briti sh Colonial Bank and. Loan Company British N. American Chart& Bank of Asia Chrtd. i.Bnk. of India, Australia, & China. Colonial Commercial of Lond English Scottish a nd! Australian Lond. Glatt. Bk. 01 Australia Ditt , ..) New Lor Aim' and County.. .I.ondon Joint Stock.. t .ond. & Westminsto 7Aational Provincial of England Do. New ITational of Ireland Tow South Wales C )riental Bank of Corporation. 'rovincial of Ireland !)o. New Ro val Australn.Bkg. & Gold Imp C 0.... Soot II Australia ...... Mai .on of Australia... Dr,. New. Yinion of London ,„. -- 6;i 1 -- 4 -- 3 par -- i P . •-.... .•• 32 -2f --32$ - GA - 1p iS ........ ... . ... • •• ••• ".. • • • .. -- ...d li -- li' par -- ip par -- ip 24 -- 3 2i -- 3 16i -- 17/ 95 - 97 95 - 97 99 - 10: 92 94 2 d pa) 97 -10 C --- fliF ••. li - 2 p id—:;d Q - 7 iii = 33 111 -- 12 - 9A 201 - 21 p 39 41 Pro 214 22 , ld 21 par 71 84 ... ''... ... ... ...' pro 3i a 6 - 7P 3i - ••• '-'-'" • ii l. -7- IA BANGS. 80 --- 82 is— d 2i - 2i I 193 - 20; 4p 33 - 30 37 - 39 ••• 38 --- 40 63 - 65 7 ---- 9 •N 7.- - : f" 100 100 100 1.00 130 100 19i 14 20 11i all 11J all all 100 100 25 812 s St. 1 1 100 36 ,100 all all all 100 20 all 100 all all 3! 1e 100 100 all 100 all 141 s. 10 5 20 20 THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, MARCH 2, 1855. [IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. instance. Ho moved that the bill be read a second time that day six months. Mr. HADFIELD seconded the amendment, regret : . ting that, amongst all the evils that affected railways, the bitterness of religious strife should be one of them. He understood the majority of the shareholders had re jected the bill, and it would therefore be nothing less than forcing it upon them if the house passed the second eading. Mr. B. DENISON supported the bill, and insisted that the select committee was the proper tribunal to decide whether the bill should pass or not. In the meanwhile, he might state that these schools and the church were absolutely required to meet the wants of the large body of mechanics which the company had collected together in the neighbourhood of Doncaster. Mr. LOCKE thought it behoved the House of Com mons to consider whether money raised for one purpose should be diverted to another. He, for one, felt that it would be establishing a bad precedent if they passed this bill, and he would therefore rather leave these schools aed church to I e erected by the voluntary con tributions of the shareholder.=, as had been done in the case of other companies. Lord STANLEY viewed this bill, not as a question of detail, but as a question of principle, and the house was just as competent to decide it as a committee up stairs. Well, then, he had no difficulty in deciding that the matter should be left to the voluntary efforts of the shareholders rather than enforced by an Act of Parlia ment. HOUSE OF LORDS—(YESTERDAY.) The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the wool sack at five o'clock. SPEEDY TRIAL OF OFFENDERS BILL. Lnrd BROUGHA.M presented a petition, signed by the merchants, bankers, and other inhabitants of Cam bridge, complaining of the present state of the criminal law in respect to the prosecution for petty larcenies, and praying that jurisdiction be given to the magistrates to deal with all such cases. Also a petition from the cor poration of Portsmouth to the same effect. The noble and learned lord also laid on the table of the house a copy of the presentment of tthe grand jury of the county of Sussex at last quarter sessions, conveying the same prayer. ROMAN CATHOLIC PROCESSIONS IN TUAM. Tile Earl of DERBY said, in reference to a question put to the Government a few nights ago by a noble lord as to whether the attention of the Government was called to the fact of processions of Roman ecclesiastics in Tuali having recently taken place, he wished to ask whether the law officers of the Crown had been in structed to take any steps for the prevention of the offence ? Earl GRANVILLE said he believed the law officers of the Crown had been consulted on the subject, and it was their opinion that the provisions of the act alluded to only referred to the regular clergy and not to the working clergy. The Earl of DERBY asked whether the noble earl bad any objection to state the grounds upon which they had come to such conclusion ? Earl GRANVILLE said he was not quite sure whe ther the law officers of Ireland were unanimous in that opinion, but the question was ultimately, referred to the English law officers, who had given it as their opinion that the clause referred to the regular and not to the secular clergy. The Earl of DERBY quoted the words of the clause, with the view of showing that it comprehended all ec clesiastics of the Roman Catholic Church. He was not disposed to give any opinion as to the policy of the law, but it was most important that that particular provi sion should be clearly understood. The Earl of EGLINTON said that during the time he bad the honour of holding the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, he could confidently say that the law officers of the Crown entertained not the shadow of a doubt as to the illegality of those processions. Lord ST. LEONARDS was understood to say the law was clear in dealing with such processions, whether regular or secular, of the Roman Catholic clergy. The Lord CHANCELLOR said from the reading of the clause it appeared to him there was no prohibition to a Roman Catholic ecclesiastic wearing his habili ments. The words, "in the habits of their order," seemed to him only to apply to those in orders. The act was a very stringent one, therefore they should take care how it was applied. After some further observations the subject dropped. THE WAR INQUIRY. A Messenger from Mr. Roebuck's committee applied at the bar of their lordships' house asking permission for the Duke of Newcastle to attend and give evidence before that committee. The request was unanimously agreed to, and their lordships sent their answer to the Commons by a mes senger of their own. LUNACY REGULATION ACT AMENDMENT BILL Mr. BOUVERIE also believed the house was com petent to decide the question, and upon the principle that " property had its duties as well as its rights," he should support the second reading. Mr. LABOUCHERE believed the house would be doing great injury to the Church of England if it passed this bill. Much better would it be for the house to leave these religious questions to be decided by the shareholders themselves. Mr. WADDINGTON, speaking as an active mem ber of the railway world, had no hesitation in support ing this bill, as one which was absolutely necessary for meetinc , the moral and spiritual wants of the dependents on the Great Northern Railway. It was quite hopeless to think of relying upon voluntary efforts. Mr. BRIGHT urged the itnpolioy of Parliament forcing railway companies to provide church accommo dation for their servants. If they onoa admitted that principle where was it to end ? Mr. GLYN preferred relying upon the voluntary principle to resorting to a bill of this nature. Surely the proprietors of the Great Northern Railway were sufficiently opulent to provide for the religious wants of their servants without having recourse to a measure of this sort. Mr. LAING took a similar view of the bill. Mr. B. DENISON seeing that the feeling of the house was against him, asked leave to withdraw the bill. The bill was accordingly withdrawn. NOTICES OF MOTION. Mr. SCOIT gave notice that on Monday next he should ask the Government whether any provision was intended to be made for the appointment of a chaplain to every one of the ships about to proceed to the Baltic and other places ? He should a'so ask, when the Under Secretary of State was in his place, whether the Board had taken any efficient steps fur the establishment of a system of communication between the engine-driver and the guard on every passenger train on every line. Mr. COBBETT gave notice that on that day fortnight he should move for leave to bring in a bill to regulate the hours of labour in factories, and to provide a better system of inspection. (Hear, hear.) This bill was read a second time. CONSOLIDATED FUND (3,300,0001.) BILL. This bill was read a second time. CONSOLIDATED FUND (20,000,0001.) BILL. This bill was also read a second time. COMMON LAW PROCEDURE ACT AMEND MENT BILL. The LORD CHANCELLOR moved the second reading of this bill, which was agreed to. The Earl of EGLINTON moved for a copy of a letter addressed by the Hon. T. F. Kennedy, on the 15th of July, 1854, to his Grace the Duke of Argyll, chairman of a committee then sitting on the subject of the Crown estates of Kilconcourse. In doing so the noble earl entered somewhat fully into the subject. The Earl of ARGYLL, in answer to the observations of the noble earl, said, the letter, a copy of which the noble earl required, was not in existence ; therefore he could not produce it. A VOTE OF THANKS TO THE COLONIES. The Earl of CARNARVON rose to ask whether it was the intention of her Majesty's Government to pro pose a vote of thanks, or some other public acknow ledgment, to those colonies or dependencies of the Bri tish Crown who, either by their respective legislatures or otherwise, hail evinced their sympathy with the mother country by moral or pecuniary proffers of assist anse. The noble earl entered at some length into the subject, and urged that their lordships should act in this matter, although there was no precedent for so doing. The noble earl then enumerated the Vari ous sums that the colonies had contributed to the Pa triotic Fund, amongst which he said Canada bad sent 20,0001., her sister, Nova Scotia, had sent 2,000/., Van Diemen's Land had sent 2,0001., Australia had sent 4,0001., and other places similar large sums. Earl GRANVILLE said he agreed with the noble earl, that precedent ought not to govern them in this case. Her Majesty had received assurances of as sistance from various colonies, and most gracious answers had been returned to them. With respect to the question of the noble earl, he thought there would be some diffi culty as to the exact form of the vote of Vianks, and as he (Earl Granville) was given to understand that further assistance was on its way irom other colonies to this country he thought it would be premature to act at present. Earl GREY thought that this question was a more serious one than it seemed to he considered by his noble friend who had just sat down. He should cer tainly have liked to see her N ajesty's Government adopt a decided course with respect to either one way or the other. He did not think that this was an occasion on which, upon the mere impulse of feeling, they should set aside the practice of former years. He was at all events quite sure of this, that if such a step as that now suggested ought to be adopted, it should have been proposed to the house by the Government six weeks ago. The Earl of DERBY very much concurred with the view taken by the noble earl who had just sat down, in regard to the surprise which he had expressed at the answer of the Government to the question addressed to them. He thought that the constitutional question was one deserving of serious consideration on the present occasion. And he was quite of opinion that they should not allow themselves to be rein away with by their feel ings, and be led, by an impulse of gratitude for the feel ing displayed by the colonists, to do that which, in future, might be found an inconvenient precedent. In expressing his doubts of the propriety of such a course as that suggested by the noble earl (the Earl of Garner von), he not only did justice to the motives that had actuated him, in proposing it, but rejoiced that the ques tion should have been brought before their lordships, because it gave an opportunity for declaring that, whe ther they should assent or object to the proposal, yet on that side of the house, as on the other, there could be but one feeling of intense gratification and satisfaction at the course pursued by the various colonies, and at the proofs they had given of their sympathy with the cause in which they were engaged, as well as of the good feeling they cherished towards this country, and the community ofnineter:,asts acinuditgelosryurwehitchhatthtelyiefrealtcotgoneixseisat b and responsible Ministers of the Crown would have duly responded to the various addresses Tieived from was the colonies. (Hear, hear, hear.) Crown the proper source from which answers to such addresses ought to prog,eed, and the responsible Minis ter of the Crown was the proper channel of communi cation. The colonies might rely upon it that any ex pression of the sense which her Majesty entertained of the loyalty evinced by the colonies at this great crisis, would have the full concurrence of this and the other House of Parliament. He should be glad to see the answers forwarded to the various addresses laid on the table, in order that Parliament might have the oppor tunity of testifying its appreciation of them. The Marquis of LANSDOWNE 'understood that all his noble friend (Earl Granville) had said was that some ackno wledgement of the colonial addresses should be made, and he met the suggestion of the noble earl on the cross-benches (the Earl of Carnal-von) by saying that it would he utterly unworthy of this country if some ac knowledgement of them were not made. As to the supposition of the noble earl opposite that there had been soiree remissness on the part of the Government in calling into action the military exertions of the colonists, he could :assure the noble earl that be was entirely mis taken in -supposing that there had been any indisposition on the part of the Queen's Government to invite, receive, and encourage, by every means in their power, such exertions as either the Government or individuals in the different colonies might be disposed to make in further ance of the warlike operations in which we were en gaged. Propositions bad been entertained, and were now being e ntertained with that view. If there were any duty 103 posed on her Majesty's Government more sacred than another at the present crisis, it was that of collecting s trength from every quarter, with the view of condenei rig it into an imposing mass of force. The Earl of DERBY asked if the noble marquis would lay a a the table the answers sent to the addresses • received ? The Marq of LANSDOWNE said this should be done. The Earl of HARROWBY anticipated that the con nection bet ween the mother country and the colonies would be ice -merited more closely than ever by the com mon exert is ins called forth by the war, especially if co lonial trod! is and officers should be employed in it, Their ion dships adjourned at seven o'clock. HOTJSI OF COMMONS—YESTERDAY. The SPI AKER took the chair shortly before four o'clock. NEW MEMBER. Mr. DE] ALWYN took the oaths and his seat for S wanseA GREJ VIC NORTHERN RAILWAY BILL. On the i notion ford e second reading of the Great Northern. Railway (urch and Schools at Doncaster) Bill, Mr. FENWICK opposed the bill upon the broad commercial principle that money raised for one object ought no t to be directed to another. Besides many of the shareltold ers objected to the Church from conscientious motives, ; and it was unjitst to attempt to accomplish that by com pulsion which ought to be left entirely to volun tary effort 1. In the Great Western and the London and North Western Co mpanies, the church and schools were established by voluntary subscriptions, and there ought to 1), no deviqtion frog that rule in the present soldier in her Majesty's army. The noble lord said, that although he felt he had more need than usual to ask the kind indulgence of the house, he did not think hon. gen tlemen would consider that an apology was needed from any member who might take up a portion of their time in asking their attention to a question of such great im portance and interest at the present moment as the system of promotion in the army and our military organisation. (Hear.) At a moment like this, when we were engaged in a great contest, and when if we had not met with great disasters our army was at least placed in a perilous and critical position—when the minds of the people of this country were occupied by little else than the consideration of the condition of that army—and when they were neces sarily asking themselves the question, " What is the cause of the evils which have befallen it ?"—the house would not, he was quite certain, grudge any time that might be occupied in the discussion of any question which might be supposed to bear upon the efficiency of the army. (Hear.) The people of this country were of opinion that there was but one principle by the application of which we might hope to obtain a safe deliverance from our difficulties and dangers—and the loud and deep and earnest demand of the people was that the house and the Gov‘irnment, whatever the Government might be, should act upon this one principle in their selection of persons to fill any office, be it civil or be it military—namely, that of placing in every pest of trust and command that man only who is most fitting to fill it—(hear) —looking simply to his qualifications fur discharging well and wor thily the duties of that office, without considering the question of Lis position in office, his connection with party, or any personal feeling whatever. (near, hear.) It would hardly be urged that that principle had been adopted in our present system of military promotion. It was not necessary that he should go into any lung description of what that system was. The theory was that the right of promotion rested solely with the Crown, and was exercised by the commander-in-chief. But by the purchase system which had grown up in our army, though it had never been established by any law, and which was a system of bargain and sale between individual officers - (no, no, hear, hear) —permitted and regalated by the Queen's re gulations and the orders of the Horse Guards, the selection of the commander-in-chief was limited to persons whose names were on the purchase-list of the regiment. Although the Horse Guards attempted to regulate the sums paid for , commissions, it was notorious to every one that much , larger sums were paid than was allowed by the Queen's regulations. When a vacancy was caused by the death, dismissal, or promotion of an officer, it was filled up by the Horse Guards without purchase, and this he took it was the safety-valve of the system, but for which poor merit would have no chance of advancement in the army. At the same time it involved the great anomaly and injustice that the family of an officer who died received no benefit from the sums he had invested in the purchase of commis sions. Another way by which persons not possessing for tunes sufficient to enable them to purchase commissions might obtain them was, as rewards for proficiency at Sandhurst ; but he believed be was right in saying that that military college had but a small influence on the character of the officers in the army. The number of persons who, having studied there, received commis sions was not large, and the college was altogether ina dequate to the wants of such an army as ours. (Hoar.) The officers of our army were, generally speaking, drawn from, he would not say the aristocratic or the noble, but the wealthy classes. The soldiers were drawn from very different classes, and between the two there was a gulf to pass, which, though it was occasionally passed, could hardly be a reasonable object of ambition to the private soldier when he entered the army. The hon. member for Richmond, and the hon. and gallant member for Abing don, having respectively given notices of motion upon the subjects of Sandhurst College and the sale and purchase of commissions, he should chiefly confine his attention to the manner in which the purchase system affected the non commissioned officers and private soldiers. The present time afforded an opportunity of dealing with this part of the subject which in time of peace did not exist. By the increase of promotion from the ranks you would pave the way for an alteration in the whole system, you would in fuse a new spirit into the ranks of the officers, and would thus obtain time to deal with what he fully admitted to be a most complicated and difficult question—the aboli tion of purchase. There were involved in that system the rights of individuals, and any attempt to abolish it with out compensation would be simple confiscation, which he should be the last man to advocate or not to oppose • but , he believed that that system was inconsistent with the ad vancement of merit, and with the sound principles which ought to guide a country like this, and which were there fore deserving of the attention of the Government and of the House of Commons. He need hardly enlarge upon that part of his resolution by which he asked the house to declare that privates or non-commissioned officers rarely attained to the rank of field officers or to the command of regiments, because he believed it was notoriously true that the majority, almost the universality of the superior officers of the army were persons who had never been in the ranks. Instances of such men as Sir John Elley might be quoted in opposition to this ; but he would ask those adducing such instances to be sure that they made against his argument. Some years ago, it was stated that Colonel Cureton, whose distinguished gallantry in one of our great Indian campaigns then attracted much attention, had risen from the ranks ; but, soon afterwards, he (Lord Goderich) found, from a me moir of the gallant colonel, which was published, that he was tho son of a man whose rank, though he was poor, would have entitled him to a commission, that Mr. Care , ton enlisted against the will of his father at the time of the ' Peninsular war, and that it was owing to these circum stances, snore oven than to his great and indisputable merits, that the Duke of Wellington made him a ser g eant, and afterwards obtained for him a commission. Such a case as this seemed to him (Lord Goderich) to be no objec tion to the position which he was laying down. The pro motion of non-commissioned officers to the rank of subal terns was much more frequent than their promotion to be field-officers or to command regiments; and the posts of quartermasters and paymasters were held almost exclu sively by men who had risen from the racks, because those officers had to discharge unpleasant and clerkly duties which other gentlemen were not willing to discharge. He would state to the house the facts of the promotions which had taken place of late, when, owing to our being at war, and to the number of death vacancies at the dis; osal of the Horse Guards, the value of a commission was next to nothing. Ho could only ascertain the original circum stances of persons promoted to the ranks of ensigns and cornets. Taking that list, there had bean since the Ist of October—that was since the promoti-ms for this war began-521 ensigns' and cornets' commissions tilled up at the Horse Guards. Of these 150 had been filled up by purchase. Of the 371 which had been given without purchase 266 had been given to persons described by the somewhat equivocal title of " outs," 39 to militia officers, and 06 to sergeants. Among this 60 were in cluded 40 sergeants promoted under the system introduced by the right hon. gentleman the member for South Wilt shire (Mr. Herbert), and consequently he should almost be justified iu supposing that but for that change of system - on 26 sergeants would have received commissions. If this was the practice followed in time of war, when the social difficulties which were urged against the change would toll much less than in time of peace, because one campaign would produce in men fighting side by side more friendly feeling than one ten years' association in time of peace, he thought he had established his case, that it was not tho practice of the Horse Guards to hold out to soldiers any certain hopes that—except far ' deeds of extraordinary value, which had always been re warded, as they deserved, with commissions—their merit THE POST-OFFICE. would be honoured by promotion to the rank of commis- Mr. T. DUNCOMBE wished to ask the Secretary of cloned officers. If that was the principle, he would ask the Treasury, what, if any, new arrangements had been the house to consider whether it was advantageous. You submitted for the approval of the Lords of the Treasury, asked of the soldierthe possession not only of physical cour for the classification of the letter-carriers of the metro- age, but also of devotion, of self - sacrific e, of endurance, polio, with a view of improving their salaries and super- of privation, of patriotism, and of loyalty—all qualities annuations, and if sanction e d , f rom w h a t d a t e ; a l so , if which contained at least the germs of military genius, and it was intended to make any p rov i s i on f or gran ti ng to the which formed the foundation of the character you required letter-carriers, without deduction f rom th e i r pagy, some in those filling the highest posts in y our arm y; and y et you held out no hope that if he displayed militar y g enius, ceur relaxation in the form of holidays, age, and ability, he would meet with the r eward of mill the report upon the Post-office ? as recommended in tary command. Let them consider the case of France, and Mr. WILSON said as early as August last the Trea- say whether the wars of Napoleon, and the army which he sury authorised the Post -office to make the whole of the commanded, did not prove that in every rank of socie t y alterations recommended by th e report. In consequence might be fouud men fit for military command. The mar of that authority there had b een an amalgamation of shal whom the French army called "Le brave des braves" the two classes of letter-carriers, namely, the district and was the son of a cooper at Senlis. Massena was the sou of the general, who would in future be divided into four a simple citizen at Nice. He enlisted in the French army classes, with correspondinay. These would be before the revolution as a private soldier, but having no brought !under the S g p uperannuation Act without being hope of promotion left it. After the system was changed he re-entered it, and rose to be a marshal of France, and called upon to make any payment to the fund. With to be called by Napoleon "the child of victory." regard to the last questio n , each letter-carr i er wou ld b e He might be told that this was applicable to France, but not to Bug allowed a fortnight's holiday every year. land. (Hear, hear.) Did the hon. gentleman who cheere PATRIOTIC FUND. mean to say that our soldiers were less fit to command than Sir J. PAKINGTON asked the First Lord of the were those of France? Did the hon. gentleman mean that Treasury whether he had any objection to lay upon the the English soldier wanted the qualities which entitled table of the house copies of any d es p a t c hes which had him to the confidence of his country ? To refute any such been sent in acknowledgment of the loyal addresses, allegation, he (Lord Goderich) would appeal to the letters votes of money to the Patriotic Fund, and other modes which had been written by soldiers engaged in the present in which the colonies and dependencies of the British campaign ; he would appeal to the hon. member for Northamptonshire (Mr. Stafford), who had deserved Crown had assured her Majesty of their sympathy and the thanks and respect of all by devotin g himself to zealous co-operatio n in th e war in which this country was the alleviation of the suffering of our wounded now engaged. soldiers. Ho would ask him whether he had Sir G. GREY said there would not be the slightest learned at their death-beds lessons of resignation, of objection to produce them. He would take that oppor- loyalty, and gentleness which he might never have learned tunity of stating that addresses had been received from in the best circles of London society ? (Hear.) For many Newfoundland and New Brunswick, one enclosing years the attention of successive Governments a nd of suc -1,6001., and the other 4,0001 . (Cheers.) .. cessive Secretaries at War had been devoted to improving THE BALLOT. the condition and the education of soldiers. Did not this Mr. H. BERKELEY wished to ask the First Lord improvement of their education give them a greater claim of the Treasury the following question :—The briber to promotion ? He should hardly be told that our soldiers and corruption which prevailed at the last general elec y were wanting in courage. If he were, he would appeal to the hon. and gallant gentleman near him (Sir De Lacy tion having given rise to an act against bribery and un- Evans) who was present at the " soldiers' battle," and due influence, expiring at the end of the next session, could tell of their deeds on that occasion, and who could whether the Government contemplate a renewal of that tell of the deeds of Sergeant Sullivan whom he mentioned act ; and also, whether it be the intention of the noble in his despatch, but whose name was, in obedience to pue lord to permit the question of the ballot to be an open rile and cruel etiquett e— ( cheers)—struck out of the de question to the mem bers of his Go vernment ? - pa cst h of the Commander-in - Chief, and over w hom twelve Lord PALMERSTON said it was probable that a appointed to ensigncies in his own continuation bill would be brought in. With regard to nt If it were admitted that it would be just to gentleman had since been . . chan g e regime our' system, ho would ask the house to consider the last question, he could assure the hon. member that whether it would be expedient. He only asked that they no change was intended to take place in the arrange- should do upon system something more than had been done merit on that subject. (A laugh.) by the right hon, gentleman the member for Wiltshire NEWSPAPER STAMP. (Mr. S. Herbert), but which that right hon. gentleman had • Mr. COWAN wished to know from the Secretary to established on no firm or permanent basis. At the meet the Treasury if it was intended to proceed with the bill ing of Parliament before Christmas that right hon. gentle for the repeal of the newspaper stamp to-morrow even- man, in supporting the Foreign Enlistment Bill, corn ing ? plained of the difficulty of obtaining recruits such as wer e Mr. 'WILSON said the Army and Ordnance Esti- r equired for the arduous service in the Crimea. This mates stood for to morrow night, and he was afraid they difficulty would not have been so great had it been possible for the recruiting sergeant to have said to every man who wo uld take up the who le of the sitting. However, if aaything should happ en to p reven t those estimates oc- would enlist, that if he possessed knowledge , i ntelli g ence, and genius for command, he might rise to any position e copying the whole evening, the bill should be brought to which his talents entitled hint. (Hear, on. It was of great importance that no time should s ystem were changed you might obtainntreerec(riutihe from be lost in passing the bill, in order that the law might classes the members of which now never e hear.) ts lf_ rn h m army e b c c e f i o v i e e d . take effect at the next quarter day. THE VERNON GALLERY. at all. Since the Ist of October 4 commissions who had never been . description of which Lord EBRINGTON asked the First Minister if it l6 in m t e l l ie l h a ' :i t n i th rierbert) complained as the right hon. gentleman ~ • T hey were all mere youthsoolfr was the intention of the the Crown to purchase the Vet non collection ? t for , be • a . stain of affairs it was no wie man inadequate to the work . of . the , campaign. Of course in the present Lord PALMERSTON replied that, in the present state of the national finances, lie could not undertake it was true, all that youthful courage, generosity,. l and dove was sent on active service, and he then went outwi.:ll, to recommend Parliament to vote money for the fur - tion for which English gentlemen had i ways been dietin enowledge except such chase of the collection. gained by his examination. He went out at au PROMOTION IN THE ARMY. as he had guished, but without any military w hich in other pursuits he weol , l not be thou g ht fit to Mr. LAYARD pr esented a p etition from A y lesbur y in agbe e p laced in responsible situations or to have the command favour of the motion of Lord Goderich. of men. Soon after he went out lie might have to command Mr. ROEBUCK pr esented a similar petition from a picket, where up . on . his skill, vigilance, and knowledge m i g ht depend, as before now had depended, the saf e ty o f Sheffield. the army. Before he went on duty his cowman .ing officer Viscount GODERICH then rose to snore that an hum the probably send for him and say, "You eo on picket ble address be presented to her Majesty, praying that she to-night. Perhaps you may not well know the nature of svill be graciously pleased to take into her consideration the duty, but Sergeant So-and-So is a very stealy, experi the present system of promotion in her Majesty's army, enced scan ;ho will go with y ou and will t ell yo u what to under which non-commissioned officers rare ly attain to the do." Surely it was an inversion of common sense to place a man in command of any part of a regiment who was rank of commissioned officer, and scarcely over to that of obliged to take his instructions from a non-commissioned field officer, and humbly to recommend to her Majesty officer. (Hear.) A story, which he knew to be true, had that it is the opinion of t his house tha t the said system is been told to him of a young and. gallant officer who first injurious to the public service, and unjust to the private saw a battle on the heights of the Alma, and who, in • writing to his mother afterwards, said, when the balls began to fall thick around him and men were dropping on every side of him, he felt for a few moments a thrill of terror, and was hesitating whether he should flee. At that moment a great tall sergeant behind him took him by the back of the neck and pushed him into the thick of the battle. (A laugh.) Hon. gentlemen might laugh, but the story was true. The young officer went on to say that from that moment he never ftgt fear, and he must have been a gallant man to have told the story himself. (Hear.) It was by that se rgean t that he was made a soldier. (Hear.) A gallant friend of his (Lord Goderich) now.in command of one of her Majesty's regiments, and a most distinguished officer, told him—speaking on the subject of his (Lord Goderich's) present motion—that the present system affected the efficiency of the army not only in time of war, but in time of pe ace . (H ear, hear.) He said a short time after he Joined his regiment the command of his company devolved upon him. The commanding officer sent for him, and said, " You do not, of course, know your duties as commander of a company, but Sergeant-Major So and-So is an experienced man, and he will explain to you what you should do." (Hear.) His (Lord Goderich's) friend followed that advice, and the result was that he ra• pidly rose to the rank of a colonel—(an ironical laugh)— and had the pleasure afterwards of recommending the ser neant.major to an ensigncy. But he (Lord Goderich) con• tended that it was an inversion of common sense to have promoted the officer before the sergeant-major. He did not for a moment propose that the commissions in the army should be held exclusively, or even mainly, by men rising from the rank of private soldiers. All he said was that the present proportions should be changed. He had been asked why he did not frame his motion for a com mittee. He had not done se first, because the g round was occupied, and secondly, because the change h was now urging was one which could be made now, and for making which the present time was peculiarly favourable, which might not be the case if they waited to have the report of a committee. (Hear.) We were now fighting side by side with a gallant ally, in whose army a different system existed, and which army, if report spoke true, bore a strik ing contrast to our own. He thought there was testimony enough to show that the French army was altogether in a better condition than our own, and that we ought to allow no false pride to prevent, us examining into their system, and considering whether We could not assimilate our own to it. With respect to the recent promotion of one meritorious sergeant in each regiment, if that system had been a sound one, they would not hare had his noble friend (Lord Pal merston) telling the hon. gentleman opposite (Mr. French) the other night, that Sergeant Sullivan could not be pro moted, because it was impossible to promote more than one sergeant in a regiment. (Hear.) He had been told out of doors, and he might be told in that house, that •the nten themselves'did not like to be-promoted, because when so promoted they found their position uncomfortable. No doubt that would be so if they only promoted one sergeant in every regiment. That was the very reason why he asked the house to change the system. If they had a body of men promoted from the ranks, and thoroughly well-knit toge ther, he had no doubt they would live and act together in a satisfactory manner; but if there were only compara tively a few of them promoted from time to time, and if they were regarded as black swans, as they were occasion ally, though he knew well that a gentleman would never so look upon them, the men so promoted world be liable to feel themselves in a peculiar and anomalous position. And surely he was justified in saying the gentlemen of England would never refuse to serve their country because they shared the honours and privations of the military pro fession with men who had risen from the ranks. (Hear, hear.) He knew the officers in the British army were brave, devoted, and loyal, and he was not asking that the house should do them an injury, but that it should give " a fair field and no favour" to another class of men: He hoped, if he should be followed in the debate by the noble lord at the head of the Government, that noble lord would not accuse him, as he had accused his hon. friend the mem ber for Aylesbury (Mr. Layard), of having indulged iu "vulgar declamation against the aristocracy." He (Lord Goderich) had done no such thing—he was only asking to have equal justice meted out to all classes of men in the army. Tacitus told us of the ancient Germans—" Reges ex nobilitate, et duces et virtute sumunt." He (Lord Goderich) would that we should henceforth choose our military commanders by the example of our German fore- fathers—namely, for their merit and their merit alone, by' which we should promote the efficiency of the army, and do justice to the claims of those brave men to whom, by common consent, much more than to their commanders, did we owe the victories of the last campaig n . We should then reward the heroes of the Alma, Bal aklava, and In kerman—then, as in the days of the first Napoleon, every helmet would catch and reflect some beam of glory from victory; and we should build a sound and satisfactory , military organisation, because we should lay its founda tiois on the principles of reason and justice. Mr. F. PEEL said the system of which the noble lord complained might be faulty in principle and defective in theory ; bat it could not be said with truth that in its ac tual working it had operated injuriously to the interests of this country or to the honour and credit of the Eng lish army. If he had all the armies of Europe brought to gether before him, and if he wanted to inquire to which among those armies he should refer if he desired to find officers distinguished for their high sense of personal honour, eminent for their courage and for their, unshrink ing bravery, and possessing also, in a superior degree, the habits and feelings of gentlemen, the army to which he should be referred would be the English army and its officers. (Hear, hear.) The question which theymust con sider was, whether those were the qualifications which were indispensable to English officers ? He did not for a moment wish to underrate men taken from the ranks, familiar as they wore with all the duties of a soldier, and with the feelings of the class from which they sprang ; but when he considered the nature of our military system, and the im portant functions the officers of the English army had to fulfil, especially in the colonies, where they had often to assist in the administration of even civil affairs, he did not think there were any qualities more indispensable to an English officer than those to which he had alluded. (Hear.) The noble lord's view was that the system to which hehad referred was a system which, in the terms of his motion, acted injuriously and unjustly to the private soldiers in the army. (Hear, hoar.) But much of what the noble lord had said rested upon theory, to use his own expression; and he thought the noble lord had failed to point out in what way the present system did act injuriously ou the private soldier or impeded the disposition to enlist into the service. The noble lord admitted that much had been done to facilitate the infusion of non-commissioned officers and privates among the officers of the army, and what he (the noble lord) wanted was that the authorities at the Horse Guards should systematise what theyhad been doing in that way; but the noble lord had not favoured the house with any definite plan of his own for doing that. His (Mr. Peel's)opinion was that if they wanted to make the promotion of non-commis sioned officers a system, the system that now prevailed must give way. (Hear, and a laugh.) The question which the noble lord had raised affected the whole system of promotion in the army by purchase. He (Mr. Peel) had no prejudice against the advancement of the private soldier. If he found a man in the ranks who had distin guished himself in any way, or shown an aptitude for command, he would say by all means let him not be lost sight of ; but he thought the noble lord brought a some what unjust accusation against the Government, when he said they had not acted with sufficient liberality in the promotion of non-commissioned officers. He would remind the noble lord that the Government had no power to act in this matter without the authority of the house. It would be unjust to suppose that at the present time no non-commissioned officers were advanced to the rank of commissioned officers. There were commissions which fell vacant by deaths, and the practice was in filling up those commissions to bestow them gratuitously on meritorious i persons, upon the responsibility of the Commander-in- Chief, making at the same time some provision for the widows and families of the officers so dying, and who had held previously those commissions. Those leath commis sions were given in the first place to bring young cadets who had passed an examination at the college of Sandhurst and had proved their capacity for the military profession. They were given, in the next place, to the sons of aged and meritorious officers ; and, again, to non-commissioned offi cers who had distinguished themselves and been reported as deserving of promotion, and who, let him add—for that was important—were themselves willing to accept a com mission —(hear )—for it was not every non-commissioned officer who would accept one. He found that the number of non-commissioned officers in the last five years who had been promoted in that way was 129, and that the number who had been promoted iu regiments serving in the Crimea was not 66, as had been represented by the noble lord, but 90, so that 219 non-commissioned officers had been pro moted to commissions in the army within that period. He thought that was an indication of the meaner in which the Government was disposed to deal with this question. Besides, owing to the necessity for increasing the strength of the armies in the Crimea the commissions had to be increased in proportion, and. 100 ensigncies had been dis posed ef, which realised, from 40,0001. to 50,0001., which would form a fund when the war was over, and when the half-pay would come to be considered. Now there were three modes by which vacancies beyond the first step could be filled up ; namely, by seniority—by merit —or by purchase. With respect to the system of pus chase, he instanced the case of a major's vabancy occurring in a regiment. It would be offered for purchase to the senior captain—a man well acquainted with his profession and fully competent to the discharge of the duties; but he was a man of no means, and was obliged therefore to decline the seniority. The captain next to him had, perhaps, the means, and would obtain the majority, and in that case he thought a hardship weuld be inflicted upon the senior cap tain, and. he should most certainly be glad if any means could be adopted for remedying such hardship. But the house should remember on the other hand that it was not desirable to have very old officers, and especially field officers, in the army, and yet the results of abolishing the purchase system and adopting that of seniority would be greatly to extend the average age of officers of the army. The hope of advancement, too, was almost entirely incon sistent with the system of promotion by seniority. The lowest, for instance, in a list of 16 captains might be de sirous of obtaining a higher position, and be ambitious of using his talents for the interest of his country in a wider sphete of action, but while it was necessary for him to advance by degrees throug h the whole of his senior cap tains to arrive at his majority, his prospects of attaining the object of his ambition would be very limited indeed. He believed, therefore, that the prospect of rapid promo tion by purchase had the effect of bringing into tne army a ve ry large amount of the public spirit and enterprise of the country. But it appeared to be overlooked. to a great extent that there were conditions attached to the purchase which required to be satisfied before the commission could be obtained, every officer having to pass an examination, and being called upon to prove his qualification for the higher post which he sought to obtain. (Hear, hear.) Another beneficial effect of the purchase system was that it got rid, to a great extent, of the aged officers. Con stant complaints wore made of appointing old men to com mands in the army ; but the way in which the army had come to b 3 officered by comparatively young men was mainly to be attributed to this very system of promotion by purchase. Where would be the inducement for an old officer to retire, if he were not allowed to sell his commis sion upon leaving the service? (Hear.) It would, in fact, be indispensably necessary to resort to some violent means of removing the aged—(a laugh)—and that would be a course of conduct extremely painful and hurtful to the feelings of all parties. If the present system of promotioa by purchase were abolished, it would cause a complete stagnation in the current of promotion. He found that the number of officers who had retired by purchase, during the List five years, had bean 30 lieutenant-colonels, 2'J majors, 03 captains, 115 lieutenants, and 44 ensigns; and the total value of their commissions was not less than 500,0001. (Hear, hear.) With respect to the third mode' of pi omotion—by merit as it is called the case of Sergeant Sullivan offered no great encouragement to any Govern ment to enter upon such a system. Wh o was to be the judge of the relative merits of the different candidates for promotion ? In this particular case the Horse Guards in structed Lordßaglan that he might promote one sergeant major of each regiment. The Government knew nothing of the grounds upon which each person was selected, and ever since it had been knee fiat [Sergeant Sullivan had not been selected, the had been attacked by one hon. member eking why he had not 62} 3a 10 741 i i 5 7I 98 9 7i i i 8 4 8 67a i I NEW WRITS. On the motion of Lord ELCIIO, the Clerk of the Crown was ordered to issue a new writ for the election of a member of Parliament for the borough of Dudley, in the room of the late Mr. J. Eenbow, deceased. On the motion of Mr. HAYTER, new writs were also ordered for Stroud, in the room of Mr. Horsman, who had accepted the office of Secretary to the Lord- Lieutenant of Ireland ; for Athlone, in the room of Mr. Keogh, who had accepted the office of Attorney-General for Ireland—(hear, hear)—and for Ennis, in the room of Mr. Fitzgerald, who had accepted the office of Soli citor-General for Ireland. ARMY BEFORE SEBASTOPOL COMMITTEE. Mr. ROEBUCK, as chairman of this commit tee, brought up a report, which was read by the clerk at the table. It stated that the committee were of opinion that the objects for which it had been appointed would be best attained, and injustice to indi viduals would be prevented if its proceedings were con ducted secretly. Mr. ROEBUCK also asked that a message might be sent to the Lords' asking for the attendance of the Duke of Newcastle, to give evidence upon the committee. LONDON AND DUBLIN MAILS. . reply lv n t s o Mr. ON In stated A NcE iDl hat arrangements were about to be made to expedite the mails between London and Dublin by an hour. He was not, however, prepared to state what might be the result of their arrangements. ESTABLISHMENT OF A GENERAL POLICE, &o. In reply to a series of questions from Mr. PALE, Sir G. GREY said he felt most anxious on the sub ject of the establishment of a general police throughout the kingdom, but he could not saywthat he had any mea sure in contemplation. As to the question whether the Government had any intention of introducipc Q. measure relative to the reformation of juvenile ofFenat% he would remind the hon.:gentleman that an:act was passed last ses sion by which power Wag given to establish institutions of this character, and that power had been extended to eight, and others had made proposals. It Lad been d. termined that no fund should be provided by the Government for the establishment of such schools. As to the employment of convict tabour, a system had been in operation for some time which had been found very profitable. PROVISION OF FOOD AND FORAGE FOR TURKIS a CAVALRY. Mr. OT WAY wished to ask the Secretary at War whether there was any agreement between her Majesty's Government and the Porte, by which her Majesty's Government undertook to provide food for the Turkish soldiers and forage for their cavalry in the Crimea; and, if so, if any and what steps had been taken to insure the delivery of hay sufficient for the large body of Turkish cavalry stationed in or about to be sent to the Crimea ? Mr. F. PEEL in reply said that, by an agreement with the Porte, it was intended that there should be an auxiliary force of cavalry which would no doubt have to be fed and foraged ; but during the last few months such large cs , ntracts had been entered into that it was not necessary to make any special provision for supply ing this force. i _"~~~ ~~ "`"`~, ~~ • - - been promoted. If they were to confide io ,the Covent- - ment the task of promoting men according to their merit, and of ascertaining the relative degrees of merit; the house - - would be placing upon — tha — sholilders - of the - Ooverotnent • an invidious duty, which it would be impossible for them to discharge. (Hear, hear.) One effect of such a etep also would be, to confer upon the regiments at home a great and undue advantage over those in the colonies, where the respective merits could not be so easily ascer tained. Promotion by merit would, in effect, become promotion by favouritism. (Hear, hear.) The noble lord vslAo drought forward the motion had stated that the sale of commissions was not legalised. In this respect*e noble lord was in error, for the 49 Gee. 111., cap. 126, ex pressly refers to th e safe or purchase of commissions, upon such terms as may be fixed by th e Queen's regulations. But there were in connection with the system of promo tion many serious difficulties, not to be remedied without very deliberate consideration of the whole bearing of the question. The present value of the commissions held by officers in the army, supposing they were to buy up all the rights of those only who are now serving in the Crimea, would exceed the sum of two millions. In addition to this, the impracticability of effectually abolishing the sale and purchase of commissions must also be borne in mind: Sup pose the house were to decide that no ensign should be ap pointed by purchase, yet when those officers came to rise from rank to rank, it would be found that money would always be brought to bear in order to displace those who stood in the way of the desired promotion. In India, al though no commissions were allowed to be sold, it fre quently occurred that, in order to induce an old officer to retire, those below him in rank raised a zm of money among them, and presented it to him in order to get biro away. As a further evidence of the little value to be placed upon regulations of this kind, it was a well-known fact that, although it was prohibited to give for a commis sion any larger sum than that stated in the Queen's regu lations, sums considerably higher were frequently given by persons of wealth. (Hear, hear.) So far as he had been able to look into the question, he saw many advantages connected with the present system which he should be most sorry to see abolished. Upon the other hand, he saw considerable inconveniences in the plan proposed by the noble lord, nut the least of which was that complete stag nation in the current of promotion which would ensue. , For these reasons he called upon the house not to give its sanc tion to the motion of the noble lord. (Hear, hear.) Lord LOVAINE admitted that the present system was not perfect—he did not know any system that was-abut he denied that it was chargeable with all the evils ascribed to it. The noble lord referred to the officers in the continental armies, but he ought to remeniber that there the conscription forced all classes into the ar my, from among whoth; of course, there was an ample selection for commissioned officers; but he . denied that in any army in the world sach.care was taken for the comfort and wel fare of the private soldiers - as by. the English gentlemen .. who officered the British army. It was remarkable that a system of purchase had been voluntarily adopted is the Indian army ; that was to say, the officers in a regiment clubbed their subscriptions together to induce the senior officers to retire, that they might not stop the promotion of those below them. - Mr. OTWAY supported the motion ; and, in answer to the objection that it would encumber the army with aged officers, he suggested the adoption of the French system, that no man should remain in any given rank beyond a certain age. Colonel SIBTHORP had heard with pleasure the speech of the hon. gentleman the Under-Secretary of War, and that of the noble lord (Lord Lovaine.) Our system had gone on for many years, and under it our army had ob tained a high character, and therefore he was oppo se d t o change. It was better to let well enough alone, and he was prepared to vote against the motion of the noble lord. Mr. WARNER agreed with the noble lord who sub mitted the motion to the house, that the only second rule to adopt was that of a combination of seniority and merit. But there was a question, which had not been touched, of very great importance—where were we to get our soldiers from at all ? We could not resort to the conscription, and men were unwilling to enlist. He feared we had syste matically endeavoured to degrade the men in our army. Hon. members spoke disparagingly of the foreign legion last year, and the consequence of the unjustifiable and most offensive character given the men likely to compose such a force was, that the Government failed to raise it. (bear, hear.) Much the same course was pursued towards our own soldiers. We treated them as if they belonged to an inferior class, and we subjected them to degrading punish ments, and the consequence was that soldiers would not come forward willingly when wanted. He hoped that the system of promotion by purchase would be done away with. There were two things wanted—military talent at the head of an army, and a number of men sufficient to maintain the force ; and to secure these two things a change of system was necessary. Captain SCOBELL regarded the reply made by the hon. Secretary of War as a routine speech. (Hear, bear.) In the presence of the Prime Minister he should say that un less this question was taken up seriously by him, it would run away with his Government. Matters could not remain as they were, and this was a topic that would not go to sleep until it was put to rest. (A. laugh.) Looked at as an affair of buying and selling, was it, he asked, proper or rational that the Queen's commissions should be bought and sold? No other army in the world did such a thing. How would it be if the principle of purchase was applied to the non-commissioned grades? Supposing privates were allowed to purchase sergeantcies, how would that work ? What sort of sergeants would we have? Why, our ser geants would become worthless instead of being, as now, most excellent—for, as a class, the sergeants and corporals were the most perfect in the British army. They learn their duties by degrees, and they win their promotion by merii; alone. With regard to the buying and selling sys tem, it was so rooted in the British army that it would be difficult to eradicate it ; but some beginning might be made. No more purchases should be allowed after a given date, and those who had previously purchased should be held harmless ; .and then, should it require two or three millions-to get rid of the whole vicious system, let us pay it, and assume a right position. He held that the pur chasing of commissions did an injury to the aristocracy, for dull men by it got over the heads of active and ener getic men, and the character of the whole suffered in public estimation. Let the system be changed, and let merit be the cause of promotion, and the aristocracy would then bear comparison with any class in the community. The army was at present made a sort of plaything, and men who had no taste or talent for military life en tered it and left it without ever thinking of making it a serious study. But the term aristocracy was a very loose one, for who could say where aristocracy began and where it ended ? There was an intermediate class, and this class formed a considerable portion of those who were interested in the purchase of commissions. Hon. members had all the same object in view—to secure the honour and safety of the country, and to maintain the credit of thearmy. If they could get an able soldie r w h o was a marquis,. they should glory in him. Nothing was so s a ti s f ac t ory as to see rank united with talent ; but then it was doubly un satisfactory to see rank without talent getting on at a double pace, while merit was left behind. (Hear.) It had been said that Parliament had been ni g gard in voting the sums ne cessary for the maintenance of our army; but that was not so. The army estimates were never refused by the House of Commons, and they were not chargeable with the inefficiency of our military establishments. Nothing with an officer was so high a certificate in the eye of the public as that he was a Waterloo man ; but nothing could be more wrong than to assume that all Waterloo men were heroes, and fit, in strength and talent, for the arduous ser vice of the present day. These men were worn out and past their prime, and it was not wise to put forward age when they could get youth and stamina and talent com bined. The gallant officer the Secretary of the Admiralty Board had given the House his opinion of the Horse Guards. He had said that every one knew it was not merit or capa city, but interest and connection, which ruled promotion there. That was pretty strong coming from the Ministe rial bench, and showed that the question had made con siderable way in the country. He said that they should not be satisfied with a mere consolidation of departments, but that they must reform the Horse Guards and the army —and he asked how they could have generals when the first thing they did was to compel men to lodge a slim of money and then to purchase every step ? (Hear.) The whole question rested on this point—Wu merit to be superior to money in the army, or money to merit ? In the profes sion to which he belonged it was true that commissions could not be purchased, but gentlemen could obtain them in the Admiralty by other means which he need not particula rise. Many able and gallant officers were passed over aria neglected in his profession, and he was himself one of the neglected. A noble lord in another place who had held office in the administration before the last, said that if the administration of the army were assimilated to that of the navy, the army would be a hotbed of jobbery andtrickery. The fact was that both wanted setting to rights. In one a man might job his way if he had plenty of money; in the other a man might job his way if he had plenty of interest. (Hear.) He did not deny that war gave a man some . chance of promotion, but he was speaking of the ordinary state of things. When they could find sergeants and corporal's suffi ciently educated to advance them, it was wise to give therm promotion; but many sergeants and corporalshad net edema tidn enough to - be advanced to commissions. In such a c.sse they should reward them otherwise, and he was a great a - eocate for the establishment of the order of merit, whici' would descend to the lowest man ire the army. (Rear, hear.) He would heartily supportltho motion, and refer to a few instances, taken at random from the Army List, to show the consequences of the present system. He found in one regiment an o fficer of eight years' standing; the next to him was also of eight years' standing; but then followed officers of sixteen, fourteen, and twelve years' 'Landing. In another regiment the first man was of eight yearn' stand ing ; the next man of thirty years' standing ; the next of eight, and the next of sixteen. How could things go on satisfactorily according t o th a t sys t em ? Olean) MMus' the grey-headed man placed behind the youth; and thatwaa enough to damp the ardour of any but an English army, which it would take a great deal to damp. (Hear.) He believed that in the' ragoons things were in the same way. He found that an officer of nine years standing was above officers of fourteen and eighteen years' standing. This was the first motion of a series that was coming before the house, and he trusted the house would deal with it in a suffi ciently encouraging way, that was the proper place tornake regulations to change the laws, and he trusted the noble lord at the head of the Government would come forward and make the changes that were called for by the times. Let them do it slow ly if they would, but let them not stand s till. (Hear.) The system could not stand, and. if any further disasters should occur the Government would be tripped up_on this, if on no other question. (Hear.) Sir J. WAISII always thought that one of the conse quences of the disastrous and ill-conceived expedition to Sebastopol would be that it would throw discredit upon the whole military system. (Hear.) Their regimental system had worked well, and might bear comparison with that of any other nation in Europe. The whole of their military annals demonstrated its superiority, whic ht was substantiated and confirmed* by the rec ent and great ex ploits of their army. (Hear, hear.) Jie must give his vote against the motion of the noble viscount. Lord SEYMOUR , sai 1 the noble lor d who brou g ht for• ward . this motion pleaded that deathwould vacancies be the should effectb given t o private soldiers. - Now of this? The country was calling for younger officers ; the certain effect of this system would be the introduction of older officers. The countr y was callin g for educated offi cers ; under this system education must be given asp alto gether. Then, in time of peace, this system would of ne cessity degenerate into a combined system of seniority nod favouritism. The two systems, in fact, were now in ope ration in our own army, In the artillery there was no purchase— in the line there was. The consequence w!%s that in the artillery there was the greatest difficulty in getting rid of old officers. If the same systchwteorna nc adopted in the line, the pension list would be swelled frightful extent, or the army would be eumhboeediebiyutoielda and incapable o ffi cers. He denied that pure ase qualification, which, on the contrary, .might be carried as high as in any of the Continental armies.He compla ined resent that the motion before the house c ondemned the r , system without offering any o ther plan in its place . Mr. J. BALL supported the motion as a mean; of in creasing the number of recruits, and he eontendeil that, r ' all 10 28. 2011 100 20 20 20 20 33A 111 i 631 1 124 49 8i 363 7 ~~ r