The Sun. — London, England, 1856-04-25 00:00:00

the purpose of testing their qualifications ; in every ?me the candidate has been subjected to such isa nexamination, and in some cases the re has been a complication amongst several persons nominated for one vacancy by the head of a department. Acc o r din g to the latest informat ion, the number of persons nominated who had been examined, up to 21st April last , was , in London, 874 ; in the provinces, 549 - total, 1,423. Of this number certificates were granted to 868, and refused to 463 candidates. The house must, therefore, see that the examination is a real and an efficient one, and serves to winnow and separate from the mass a co nsiderable number of incompetent candidates. The house, however, should observe that this separation of fit and un fit candidates does not date exclusively from the appoint ment of the Civil Service Commission ; and they are not to assume that these 463 rejected candidates would have been admitted if the Civil Service Commissioners had not been appointed. Before the appointment of that commis sion, there were, in the great majority of departments, ex aminations of which the object was to test the qualifica tions of the candidates. Therefore it may be assumed, even if the Civil Service Commissioners had not been in in existence, that a considerable number of unfit candi dates would have been rejected. Nevertheless, the sys tem has been made uniform, has been applied in all cases , and has been condu c ted in a more satisfactory manner than before. My noble friend has referred to the sub ject of education in connection with the civil service examinations. He has stated that the working of the system is viewed with interest by the friends of popular education, and that it is the duty of the Government, if they are unable by other means to promote the spread of education, to use this method for giving an impulse to it, and that great expectations are entertained by those who wish to diffuse education among the people from the system of open competition. The Dean of Hereford (Dr. Dawes), who is generally kitoom as one of the moat enlightened friends of education, and who is actively engaged in its promotion, has published an edition of the report of the Civil Service Commissioners—a cheap report, for general circulation—and he has prefixed to it some remarks of his own on the subject. And what I wish to point out to the attention of the house is, that these remarks of a digni tary of the Church eminently favourable to education ap ply not to the system of open competition, but to the system of competition as it has been worked. Therefore, there is every reason for allowing the system farther trial before cutting it short by the intro duction of a perfectly new system. The system which my noble friend seeks to introduce is that of open competition. He wishes to allow any person, without re commendation, to come forward and constitute himself a candidate for office in the civil service. Now; the present system does not exclude the principle of open competition. On the contrary, it admits it, subject to certain conditions. If the house refers to the report of the commissioners, pages 15 and 16, they will see an account of the number of xaminations which have been already conducted on the principle of competition. They were 15 in number, and the situations competed for were 51. The number of can didates was 247, and 175 were examined. Since this re port was printed, I understand from the commissioners themselves that several other examinations on the princi ple of competition have taken place, and that others aro about to take place. Therefore the house will see that the present system is consistent with the principle of competi tion to a certain extent, but it imposes a limit which is n3cessary for the protection and security of the public ser vice. The mode of appointment which my noble friend seeks to introduce would relieve the members of the Go vernment from all responsibility in the appointments, and would throw it as far as there can be responsibility on the Civil Service Commissioners themselves. Their choice would be determined by literary merit, and when they re ported to the heads of departments the persons who had the greatest number of marks, the heads of departments would have nothing to do but to take the first on the list presented to them. The principle which my noble friend seeks to introduce would therefore get rid of that impor tant security which now exists, and which attaches to the heads of departments as regards appointments. The Civil Service Commissioners themselves remark in their report that, although it was not in their province to discuss the expediency of adopting the princiiiitr of open competition, they must remark that those who had succeeded in obtain ing appointments under the competitive system possessed higher qualifications than those who were appointed by simple nomination ; and they expected it would have a beneficial effect on those young persons who were looking for employment in the civil service. I entirely concur in that remark. Igo with my noble friend to a considerable distance, but I separate from him when he proposes to give up the security of the personal responsibility of the heads of departments for every candidate. It appears to me that that responsibility is a most important security to the house and the public, and is a security which ought not to be dispensed with. There is also another consideration which must not be overlooked. If there be an examina tion merely to test the qualification of a single individual, it can be held in any part of the country,:in Scotland or in Ireland ; but if you appoint to offices by open competitive examination, all candidates must necessarily be brought together to be simultaneously examined on the same spot, in order to judge who is best amongst them, and that spot must be London. Under this system, therefore, a great advantage would be given to persons living in or near the metropolis, because persons living in remote parts of the country, in Scotland or Ireland, would have to incur some considerable expenses in sending their children to be exa mined in London. The bon. member for Devonshire used a very singular argument in comparing the advantage of open competition with limited competition, when he said that the system of open competition was the natural one, and that of limited competition the artificial one. By making that antithesis, he desired to recommend the one and condemn the other ; but in dealing with questions of institutions and laws, I do not know how it is possible to avoid that epithet which he uses in a disparaging sense. I ask the hon. gentleman if he is prepared to say that the judges of the land are to be appointed by open competi tion, or whether this system which he calls an artificial system is to be condemned universally ? I ask him whether he is prepared to extend the principle of open competition to the whole of the civil service. I am sure he is not prepared to go that length, and therefore his ar gtiment necessarily falls to the ground. The hon. gentle man referred to the work of Count Montalembert, on the future destiny of England—a work which deservedly at tracted a great deal of attention in this country. Ent Count Montalembert adverted directly to the question of "administrative reform," and he expressed the strongest disapprobation of that system, which he regarded with the utmost alarm—an alarm which he expressed in the most nervous and energetic language. I know from a commu nication with another French statesman, whose name, if I were to mention it, would command the respect of the house, that the fears entertained by Count Montalembert are shared by many of the ablest of continental statesmen, who think they see in the plan of open competition all the disadvantages of the system of continental bureaucracy, which is the dread and horror of all liberal politicians oa the continent. He says : " The slow but undeniable advance of administrative cen tralisation has increased the number of offices to give away. The demand for places is, and always will be, greater than the supply ; but both the demand and the supply have increased. This is the greatest danger to which England is exposed. The evil it far from being as great as in the nations of the conti nent, but England is already on the fatal declivity ; it is time for her statesmen to perceive that the universal and immode rate desire of public offices is the worst of social maladies. It diffuses over the entire body of the nation a venal and servile humour, which is quite compatible, even among those who are best paid, with a spirit of faction and anarchy. It creates a crowd of hungry applicants, ready to go all lengths in order to satisfy their appetite, and capable of any baseness as soon as they are satiated. A nation of place hunters is the last of nations, There is no ignominy to which it may not be made to submit." I do not entirely agree in the strong expressions Count Mon talembert uses. It mnst be recollected they proceed from a Frenchman, who has witnessed in his own country all the evil effects of administrative centralisation, and who knew the mischievous results which that powerful machinery in the hands of a central government is able to exercise in crushing the liberties of a nation. We must make allowance therefore for the strong feelinc , of a writer be longing to the French parliamentary party. But to a cer tain extent I do share the feeling of Count Montalembert, in thinking that it is not desirable to hold out ostentatiously to the pieblic the idea of public prizes, as prizes for their competition without any restriction, or leaving any choice to the executive government. If this system of open compe tition were applied to the civil service of the Crown, it must be extended to all other appointments. We must in clude within the scheme notonly the clerks of the civil ser vice, but all those numerous officers who are appointed by the county magistrates, by town councils, by boards of guardians, by the different municipalities and authorities of the three countries, must be placed under similar cir euee,tances. I defy any one to draw a well-grounded dis tinctim between these two classes, and I ask why competi tion should be applied to one class and not to the other. The plan which my noble friend proposes is not only new and unprecedented in this country, but unexampled as re spects every other country, and as respects commercial and mercantile departments. We do not find that railway com panies or other great commercial bodies in this or any other country ever resort to the mode of universal competition for the purpose of selecting candidates. It must be evi dent to the house that before such a plan of appointment can be introduced, a bill must be brought in, and pass all the regular stages, both in this and the other house of Par liament. I fully admit that it is difficult for an individual member of Parliament to bring in a bill on such a subject, and Ido not blame my noble friend for not doing so. I merely wish to remark, that if the plan is to be introduced it ought to be done by the authority of Parliament, and not by an address to the Crown, which may be carried by a chance number of members present on a Thursday. I have now stat e d t o t h e house the views I have been able to form on the subject, and I ask the house, before they vote in favour of the address, to consider whether the Order in Council of last session is not, as the Dean of Here ford describes it, a most important step towards the im provement of the civil service —whether it has not been carried into effect with vigour and efficiency, and in a fair and independent spirit—whether it would be wise, before it has existed one year, to interfere with its operation by the hasty introduction of a new plan, and whether it would not be better to remain contented with the limited appli cation of competition already in existence, and which, so far as the views of her Majesty's present Government are concerned, will be extended as new vacancies occur, and made applicable to ether departments. I trust, therefore, the house will allow the existing system to be continued, at all events for another year, till we are able to have a fuller experience of its operation, and will not agree to the address of my noble friend, which would put a sudden ter mination to thi s exper i men t. Therefore I beg leave to move the previous question. Mr. GLADSTONE tendered his thanks both to the noble ord who had introduced the question, and to the right hon. gentleman who had opposed it. He thanked his noble friend for the prudent way in which he had brought the question forward, and his right hon. friend for not having founded his opposition to it on the ground of principle, but on the ground of time. He likewise thanked his right hon. friend for his admission of the principle that the question should be discussed solely on the grounds of what was best for the efficiency of the public service. He be lieved that if the question could be strictly disteteeed on these grounds, there would not be the same difficulty in proceeding with it which there was when it was considered as a matter of patronage, and, as such, necessary to the working of the Government. Ile should not be surprised at Count Montalembert, or any other French or Russian, adopting measures calenlated to benefit them, no mat ter what stood in the way of their adoption. (Hear, hear.) He might be told that such a measure would tend to make the civil service too strong in this country; but his answer was that the persons who had the management of that service were appointed by that house—and he should be sorry to flee the day when it would be otherwise—therefore the house could always act with perfect freedom in that respect. Again, it had been said that even this power would make by its possession the- House of Commons too strong for the country ; but hen. gentlemen who argued in that manner must not forget the safeguards which have been provided to regulate ;WY power seeking to become a dominant power in the State. (Hear.) He hoped it would over remain so, and admitting the truth of what he had just stated, he thought these ob jections completely fell to the ground. He could tell them further that so long as the House of Commons existed un der its present form—an 4 he hoped it would always so ex ist—there need be no fear that the civil service could by any possibility become so strong as to interfere with the free opinion of the country. (Hear, hear.) Make the civil service as strong as you like, it can only be made to contri bute by that strength to the best service of the State. Cout Montalembert himself, one of the greatest thinkers and most eloquent men France ever produced, denounced the increase of public establishments, it was true, and it was an excellent excuse for any Chancellor of the Exche quer who might wish it to use as an argument upon the deficiencies of the civil service of the country, but Mon talembert deprecated it as likely to create a host of hun gry expectants after place, and • whom you could not satisfy ; but the reply to that was, that it was the sys tem by its anomalies that created the expectants. Throw open your system to competitive examination, and these hungry place seekers would disappear, to make way for better men. With an open system they could not call the man a hungry man—a man who had sold himself for a bribe as a civil servant, who came forward to place his • qualifications in competion with others to serve his country. Surely that man was not to hungry man who came and asked that capacity should be made the qualification to render service to the State. Such a man bade them try him for his fitness before they employed him. If such a system was adopted, it would do more for good education than any possible endowment could do. They would then have an education of the people at not one quarter what it would otherwise cost. His right hon. friend (the Chancel lor of the Exchequer) bad quoted the Dean of Hereford to prove that the system which had been established was the best, but if he had only gone two pages further, he would have found that the Dean of Hereford concludes by allud ing to what had been done, taking the accompanying.cir camstances into account ; but his book went a great deal further than that, and called loudly for a better system; and said that the phblic service was much in want of men of ability in its various departments. His right hon. friend had placed the whole stress of the argument upon the im portant security of having grave responsibility resting upon the heads of departments in the appointments which were made. Now he could say this that he should like strictly to analyse the mind of his right hon. friend in order to see, of what chemical elements it was composed, so that he might see the exact kind of responsibility which his right hon. friend would consider sufficient, and that could be acted on with respect to heads of departments. (Laughter.) Take the case of the appointment of Lord Chancellor, and that they were to go up fore xamination as to fitness in order to fix responsibility. Why, he might venture to say that, emi nent as those noble lords were, yet if they had to come up for examination according to the mode in use, one-third of them would be rejected ; and again, if those noble and learned lords were to be made responsible for the appoint ment of subordinate officers, what would be their condi tion night after night in that and the other house of Par liament to be brought forward upon their responsibility should anything have gone wrong. He remembered some years ago a saying of Mr. Wakley's, that although Mini sters were responsible they never responded. He could tell them that to try and fix responsibility in this way was paltry, and beneath their dignity as members of that house. It. could understand it if in the case of tide-waiters and custom-house officers, such as happened 15 years ago, when fraud was carried on to a large extent, that those who knew of or connived at the fraud should be made respon sible, butthe cases which had been put forward for this pur pose were delusions, and had been made stalking-horses of, and could not be so arranged as to afford the public any greater security than at present. The heads of departments were responsible to their own consciences, and he thought that the best kind of responsibility that could be esta blished. His right hon. friend had told them that if they had open competitive examinations, that a deal of dissatis faction would arise between the villages and great towns, because the villages would have to come up for examina tion. Surely, the son of a middle.class man or tradesman could not expect that a commission should issue in order to examine him under the paternal roof, and upon the homely hearth. He surely could not desire the commissioners to go down and catechise him before his father and mother's oyes. Then, if this was not expected, there could be no cause of complaint of the nature that had been named. He begged the house to observe the scope of the motion of his noble friend, for he thought that the right honourable baronet had somewhat mistaken it. It was not that every office should be open to competition, but it was simply praying her Majesty to make trial of the system, and that if she deemed it right to do so, that that !Deese would support her. That showed that it was intended to proceed step by step, and to make the civil service gradu ally perfect itself. What had been done was most satia factory as far as it went, and the address only called upon the house to ask that it might go a little further. Tkat part of the system had been tried last year with the con sent of the Crown, and all that the house had to do was to vote the money for its maintenance, and the present motion would simply ask for a further extension of that system by permission of the Crown, and he sincerely hoped that the house would support the motion, as the object it contemplated was so beneficial to the country at large. Mr. C. LIJSHINGTON was not one of those who in the smallest degree objected to the system of competitive examination, for be supported the measure last session:* He quite admitted that there had been sad deficiencies to complain of ; he was for 11 years in the civil service, and he saw a report drawn up by a member of his own family (Sir Strafford Nortbcote), the member for Dud ley, and he felt bound to say that the defects were very much exaggerated, nor could he at all agree with the re medies proposed by that commission. He sinterely hoped that the motion would be at once negatived. Lord GODERICH rose and asked if it was the wish of the house, as there seemed some little objection to the re gularity of the motion, he should withdraw it, and re-in troduce into-morrow in an altered form, more in conso'. nance with the rules of the house? • The SPEAKER put the question, which being agreed to, Mr. EWART generally supported the motion, and re ferred to the' system having been adopted by the gteat railways and public companies as a confirmation of the va lue of the principle, and if the Government set them the example that they would hail it with pleasure, as calcu lated to be of the greatest possible advantages to the whole public service of the country. (Hear.) He hoped the house would support the noble lord 'in his motion, for it 4 was well deserving of the confidence of the house. (Hear.) Mr. TITE thought the Government had redeemed the promise given by them when the subject was previously before the house, and that examination would for the future be the rule in appointments. It was agreed on all hands that examination should take place, and the only question was, should there be competition, and believing that a system of competition was the best, he should sup port the motion of the noble lord. Mr. J. G. PHILLIMORE opposed the motion. He thought there ought to be an examination so far as to pre vent persons totally unfit from being appointed to public situations, but it would be the most idle of all pedantries to suppoee that any competition would point out the per son most fit for public offices. Mr. PHILLIPS could not concur in the motion of the noble lord. Lard EBRINGTON considered the present system of place•hunting most demoralising as contrasted with the improved system _which the Government had so fairly adopted. (Hear, hear.) He defied any one acquainted with the working of the Government to maintain that the pre seut system of patronage afforded any effective security for the character and moral qualification of the successful can didates for public offices. Lord R. CECIL objected to a change in the system which was already working successfully in excluding all who were unfit for public offices. He excited the laughter of the house by reading specimens of the questions put to candidates on such occasions, such as calling on a clerk competing for 901. a-year to explain the difference between the laws of England and Scotland. He protested against the system proposed, of prostituting the public service, by making it a premium for proficiency in education. Mr. RICH protested against the noble lord stigmatising the method of encouraging education as prostitution. He could conceive no fairer mode of disposing of public ap pointments. He supported the motion of the noble lord, as tending greatly to improve the public service. Mr. L A.BO M.:HERE said that as his attention had been lately called to the subject, ho was anxious to trouble the house with a few remarks. He had, in common with the heads of other departments, given replies to certain ques tions that had been addressed to them by the commission ers as to supplying vacancies, and he trusted that in doing so he had given them without prejudice. After the best consideration ho had been able to give to the means of filling up vacancies in the Colonial-office, he had come to the conclusion that it was to the advantage of the service his selecting on his own responsibility a limited number of candidates (having first satisfied himself that they were young men of gentlemanly habits, to which he attached as much importance as he did to other qualities), and then asking the commissioners to examine them, and select one whom they considered to be best qualified to fill the va cancy in his office. He had now seven candidates for a vacancy in the Colonial-office, that would be filled up in a few days, and he believed he had adopted better means for obtaining an efficient officer than if he had thrown it open to competition by advertisement in the public papers. It had been remarked by hon. gentlemen that the respon sibility of heads of departments in these appointments went for nothing, and he was now grieved to find that the right hon. gentleman the member for the University of Ox ford, by the nod of his head, assented to that proposition, because he felt satisfied there had never been a gentleman connected with heads of departments that did not feel him self.responsible for the efficiency of those whom he had appointed. With regard to the vacancy he had filled up, the impression certainly was that none but a competent person would be appointed, and he had had no application from any public or private friend whatever. The candi dates to whom hehad referred had been recommended from Christ Church School, the Charter-house School, Queen's College, and two from Ireland, their attainments, moral habits, and gentlemanly feeling having been testified to by those who had watched over their education, and who naturally took a warm interest in their future success in life. Two he (Hr. Labouchere) had put on the list flOikiself, one was the son of a gentleman who had served the country well in the Colonial department for a series of years, whose ambition was that his son should follow his steps in that public department, but he had no wish that he should be appointed other than on the system laid down, and which he (Mr. Labouchere) had named, the gentleman remarking that if his son could not compete with others he ought not to get it. (Hoar.) The other was the eon of, a gentleman whose life was shortened by a residence in one of the colonies whilst in the service of his country. That gentleman had a son, who was a very deserving young man, he ,and already engaged in one of the public offices, where _he had g i ven sa ti s f ac ti on, an d w h ose re l a ti ons d es i re d might be put in the list of competitors. (Hear.) The motion of the noble lord was, no doubt, very mode rate in its tone and appearance, but in that moderate tone yeitdateioa should ho tried. twaaso i expressed o a wish, if adopted by the the n d s andaoeurs appearancea tphpa apprehended e nthe p tr o i we . H power oft e he (M he r a . d L e a o b f °u de partments to try the system of the noble lord at this mo ment, and as the wheel of fortune rapidly, turned round so rapidly, a nd the succession of public men, one t o another, was also so rapid, that he should not be surprised that at some not very distant day there would be many found desirous of trying it in their respective departments. (Hear, and laughter.) This motion, if it expressed anything, express. eel a preference for this system of examinatio n ; and he hoped the house would pause before it committed itself to such an expression of opinion. It would not do for the house to deal fast and loose with this question ; and, un less the house made up its mind that this system should be gradually and universally adopted in the service, is ought not to agree to an address to the Crown in the term s : proposed by the noble lord. He (Mr. Lahouchere) was inclined to believe that in the higher departments of the' Government, the Colonial, Foreign, Scc., departments, that competitive examination of a limited number of candidates was the best system that could be adopted, but that it was not so in those departments where a lower qualification was required. He hoped the house would not agree to the motion, but Lffirm a system which had not bow% kni g ht fa y i n t o play, not hay. THE SIJN, LONDON FRIDAY' EATEIir i, ,CE APRIL 25, 1856. ing been in existence for twelve months. There wa no special requiremeits that made it necessary that it should - be at once enforced on the Government, but that on the contrary time ehould be given to allow the system to develope itself and prove its advantages over others. Viscount GODERICH replied. The house then divided, when the numbers were— For Lord Goderich's motion Against it Majority ..... ... --21 (Loud cheers.). GRAND JURIES (IRELAND) BILL. Sir D. NORREYS obtained leave to bring in a bill to relieve grand juries from fiscal duties, and to place the ad ministration of local affairs in Ireland in elected councils. ARMY SCIENTIFIC CORPS. Captain L. VERNON called the attention of the War Department to the prempective promotion and the estab lishment of the Scientific Corps, with a view to maintain ing their efficiency in peace, for the purpose of war. He said that at x first sight this appeared but an ordinary question, but he thought he should be able to show the house that it was more of a national than a departmental one. The Duke of Wellington established the corps of Sappers and Miners in 18)8, and had he possessed them earlier he would not have been defeated at Burgos. After the war, peace brought that stagnation that in a short time the efficiency of this corps was reduced, and at the breaking out of the past war they found it at so low an ebb that it was unable to carry on the siege of Sebastopol without the assistance' of the Naval Brigade, which was increasing one department at the expense of another. Had this corps been kept up in. an efficient manner during the time of peen(); it would haye cost the country less money than had been expended, in carrying on the late war, in consequence of. its inefficiency. Had the Sappers and Miners been kept up, the redoubts would have stood the Russian. fire muck better than those constructed by the Turks, and. they would not have had that military. massacre Which took place at Balaklava, of the cost of which the country was not aware. It appeared a base and sordid view of the question to put a money value upon human life, -bet , there was no alternative _n estima ting the cost to the country. Every infantry soldier, be fore he pulled a trigger in the field, was estimated to cost the country 100/., every cavalry man 2001., and his horse, according to a calculation in the public newspapers, 2001 , but which he took at 100'. The disastrous charge put hors de combat at Mildew. 422 men and horses, which at 400/. each amounted in round numbers to 160,0001. The Sappers and Miners could have made the road to Bala klava, and that great blunder need never to have been, committed, the formation of the Army Works Corps, at a cost of 480,5951., neither would they have required the con struction of the railroad, at a cost of 400,000/., or near 70,000/. per mile. Had there been Sappers and Miners in sufficient force the troops could have been housed and the horses sheltered, and. Inkerman defended, and all those disasters from before which regiments melted away would not have occurred, especially the 63d, the men of which melted away in a week, at a cost of 100,0001. to the country. The gallant gentleman then referred to the sys tem of promotion with regard to the military branches of the Ordnance that had been turned over to the Horse Guards. There were 14 generals mentioned in that book, and they were all purchased men, and they were pitied against the marshals of France, who had risen from the ranks, and they beat them all. They beat them back from the lines of Lisbon to the very gates of Paris. That was purchased men against men who had risen from the ranks. Practically, the system in France did not work well ; for recently a French officer, in coming home from the Crimea in the same transport as some English officers, said that no man could get on in France unless he had interest in the bureau of the War Department. Such was the system in France, which, indeed he believed was the cause of the loss of many of the best men in the French army, as any one could see who observed the class of discharged soldiers who were constantly lounging about the este minets of Paris. Now with regard to the engineers, of which he was an officer. He had served for five and twenty Years in the lowest grades of that corps be fore he obtained his promotion, with a pay something less than that of the driver of a Paddington omnibus. Was that the state toWhich they would reduce the whole army? He thought the fortified places ought to be held by artil lery battalions. He believed that if the course which he had sketched out had been followed, thousands of lives and millions of money would have been saved. The SPEAKER asked WM° hon. and gallant member intended to make any motion ? Lord PALMERSTON.— The hon. member has executed his notice. We perfectly agree with him in the import ance of the subject, and it shall receive the best attention. The subject then dropped. PUBLIC MONEYS. Sir F. BARING-, in moving for a Select Committee to inquire into the ,receipt, issue, and audit of public moneys in the Exchequer, the Pay-ofice, and the Audit Depart ment, said he did not desire anything in the shape of a fi nance committee, or' to inquire into the detailed mode of keeping books, but to examine the general accountability of public depaittnents. This accountability ought, he said, to secure a cheque that the money voted by Parliament was not only spent, but spent for the particular service for which the money was voted. He then proceeded to show by details which do not admit of being condensed or ana lysed, that there were points which required investigation in the public accounts kept in the departments in question, and that large portions of those accounts had been with drawn from the Audit Board without the sanction of Par liamen t. Mr. GLADSTONE said no person could have listened to the speech of Sir F. Baring without being convinced that it contained Matters fit for further inquiry. The :whole subject of the receipt and audit of the public ac counts, including questions not open by Sir Francis, ought to be inquired into in a comprehensive manner. Thoroughly concurring with him, therefore, in the object, he had in view, he ventured to s u g g es t t o him and to the Government that the proper course, considering the com plicated nature of the subject, wonld'be to follow previous. examples, and address her `Majesty to appoint a commis . sion. ' The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER gave expla nations in reply to Sir r. Baring, justifying the transfer of the accounts from the Audit Board, which had been con sequent on the consolidation of the War Departments. He believed that the audit of our public accounts was never in a more satisfactory state than at present. With regard to the motion, if the house thought it desirable that at that period of the session, and without any special ground being shown, a committee was capable of dealing with so intri cate a question, he should, he said, offer no opposition to it ; but he a'reed with Mr. Gladstone that the inquiry would ba much more effectually conducted by a small com mission. Mr. BOWYER could not concur with the argument of the right hon. gentleman,. who said that there was nothing special in the present time to call for inquiry into the pub lic Service. He should support the motion as modified by the right hon. gentleman the member for the University of Oxford. After a feat words from Mr. Williams, Mr. Ellice, Sir H. Willoughby. and Mr. Henle:, Lord PAL lIERSTON said that the subject was one of considerable in. ment, more especially in a time of war, for no one could say but that the accounts of the country should be properly' audited. That was at least his impres don, and he believed that the inquiry, if properly con ducted, would result in showing that practically the public expenditure is and has been satisfactorily accounted for. He might add that the impression in his own mind was that, from.certaihcircutnstances which had been stated, it was desirable that an inquiry should take place, and the only-thing-to consider- was, what was the best way of carry ing out such au inquiry ? The impression of his friend the member for the University of Oxford was, that a commit tee would be the best, but he (Lord Palmerston) believed that a committee : would not answer the desired purpose. However, ho should not oppose the appointment of a com mittee, and, if that was not satisfactory a commission could be appointed afterwards: In cases of this kind some attention must be had to public impression. Sir F. BARING agreed with the noble lord at the head of her Majesty's Government, and hoped that no objection would be raised to the committee, for it was desirable that the public should be satiined that the public money was properly expended. The committee was then agreed to. Mr. KENDALL obtained leave to bring in a bill to amend the laws relating to the assessment of mines to the relief of the poor. EXHIBITION OF FIREWORKS (DUBLIN AND EDINBURGH). Mr. GROGAN niovei that an humble address be pre sented to her Majesty, praying that, as an exhibition'of fireworks has been ordered for the amusement and gratifi cation of the inhabitants of this metropolis, she will be gra ciously pleased to direct that similar exhibitions of fire works be made for the amusement and gratification of the inhabitants of Dublin and Edinburgh. Mr. - BLACK seoonded-the motion. Mr. HORSMAN said the suggestion which had bee* made would be acted upon. Lord PALMERSTON said the Government did not in tend to make any objection to the motion. It was quite right that the three great cities of the empire should hare the opportunity. of sharing in the rejoicings in which the whole country would share when they knew the terms of peace. After a short conversation the motion was agreed to. JURIES (IRELAND) BILL. The second reading of this bill was deferred till Thursday next. The comraittee on the Joint-Stock Banks was postponed till Monday. The Drafts on Bankers' Bill' was read a third time and passed. _ The home adjourned at twenty minutes past _1 o'clock. LLOYD'S SHIPPING.—;This Day.) LoHisoN, April 25.—Wind this day at noon, E. ; light breeze and fine. PLYMOUTH, April 24.—Wind E S.E.—Arrived—Cor nueopia, from Buenos Ayres. Sailed—Gambia (s.), for the west coast of Africa. FALmounr, April 23.—Wind S.W., fresh.—Arlived— Lebanon from Mauritius ; Cathcart, Sierra Leone. Off the port; —Flora M`Donald, from Colombo. SuribEREAND, April M.—Wind E.S.E.—Sailed—Birch grove, for Madras. NEWPORT, April 24.—Arrived—W. S. Lindsay, from Havre, fur. Now York • Cito, Antwerp, for St. Thomas. LIVERPOOL, April 24.—The Princess Marie, of Irvine, i s supposed to have been towed into Toberinory harbour on the lith inst.. LOWESTOFT, April 24--The Jeffery, of Padstow, is on Corton Sapd , 31.4.MF0RT.-:-Sailed—Gertrude, for Quebec. (PER ELEOTRIO TELEGRAPH.) SOUTHAMPTON, Friday M orn i ng . Arrived—Si*.Brothers - , Othello, Eliza, Emma, Kate, Gertrude, Cherub, and Azoff, from Cardiff ; Manney and Titania, Sunderland ; Jessie, Newport ; Johnny Boy, Swansea ; La Rollie, Cherbourg ; George, Plymouth. Sailed—George, for Cardiff ; Rosetta, Sunderland. . LIVERPOOL, riday Morning. S.E Sail d—Edwards, for Newfoundland; Celina, Havre ; Hy. Metcalf, Corfu; Dundonald, Genoa. QUEENSTOWN, April 23. Wine E. _ Arrived—Dunsandle, from Callao; Varna, Syria Liffey, Barbados; Ocean Traveller, Baltimore. Sailed— Jassy, Barbados. (BY SUBMARINE AND BRITISH TELEGRAPFI.) GRAVESEND, Friday, 9.59 a.m. Wind It.-; tide, 6 hours' ebb ; fine. Arrived,.April 21—Isabella Teek, from Algoa Bay. Arrived, April 25—Rover, from Guernsey. Sailed—Mary Agnes Duff, for Singapore. DEAL, Friday, 9.32 a.m. Wind cabal. Passed—Vesta, (s.s), from Oporto, for London; Sophia, London, Legh orn ; Osprey, London, Messina. 84°14 " 4 7 4 4bi11e, from Colombo, fox London. ER MAJESTY'S THEATRE.- It 14 respectfully announced that her MAJ ES PY'S THEATRE will RE-OPEN early in %lay. Engagements of great interest have been effected both in Opera and Ballet, and the best exertions used to make the arrangements worthy of thy , occasion. The, prospectdS will immediately appear. IiSATRE , COYAL, Dituta rZ Lessee, Mr. E. T. Smith. ENGLISH OPERA. THIS EVENINiI will be produced. FRA DIAVOLO. To c.)nclude with THE WATERMANT. An engagement having been formed with Mr. and Mrs. FLORENCE. from the United States, these celebrated artistes will have the honour of making their first appearance in England on Monday, April 28th, in one of their moot popular national Comediettas. THEATRE ROYAL, HAYMARKET. 'Under the Management of Mr. Buckatone. THIS EVENING, THE BALANCE OF COMFORT. After which. THE EVIL GENIUS. • Followed by EL GAMBITSINO ; or, The Mexican Goldseeker. In which PEREA. NENA. and the Spanish Dancers will appear. To conclude with LEND ME FIVE SHILLINGS. ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE, OX .'ORD-STRE ET. Under the Management of Mr. Cuaittas KEAN. THIS EVENING, THE CORSICAN BROTHERS. To be followed by THE VICTOR VANQUISHED. To conclude with A PRINCE FOR AN HOUR. ROYAL THEATRE ADELPHI. Proprietor and Manager, Mr. B. Webster. Direbtress, Madame Celeste. THIS EVENING, • LIKE AND UNLIKE. Messrs. B. Webster, Wright, P. Be C Selby, Garden; Madame Celeste, Miss Wyndham. To conclude with BACK AND THE BEAN STALK; or, Harlequin and Mother Goose at Home Again. ROYAL OLYMPIC THEATRE. Lessee and ManaTer. 4 llfr. Alfred Wigan. THIS EVENING STILL. WATERS 'RUN DEEP. After which will be produced a New and doubly-moral, though excessively old, Melodramatic Fairy Extravaganza, entitled THE DISCREET PRINCESS; or, the Three Glass DistaTs. Ii which Messrs. Emery, F. Robson, H. Cooper, Miss Marston, tint Miss Maskell will appear. - ROYAL. SURREY THEATRE. Lessees, Messrs. f4tiepherd and Creswiek. THIS EVENING, Will be performed a new Drama, entitled HOW WE LIVE IN THE WO iLD OF LONDON. Followed by SARAH'S YOUNG MAN, To conclude with THE PO3TIWAN'S KNOCK. ASTLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITHPIATRE. Lessee and 'VI - ans.:7er. %{r. Wm. Cooke. THIS EVENING, Lord Byron's MA ZEPPA and the WILD HORSE. After which, the skilful and varied SCENES in the CIRCLE, with other Entertainments. ro conclude with E•TGIND'S HA.RVEIIT HOME am! GRAND NATIONAL STEEPLECHASE. Box-office open fr.= Eleven ti'l Four. Stage Manager, Mr. W. West. Equestrian Director, Mr. W. Cooke, jun. Eli MA. STANLEY'S "SEVEN' AGES OF WOMAN." Evening performances as usual, on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, at 8 o'clock. ldmissibn--Back Seats, Is.; Centre Seats, 25.; Stalls, 3e. SAINT MARTIN'S . HALL, Long-acre. HIGH. WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE. T HIB DAY—Morn. 38 min. aft. 4—Evening 53 min. aft. 4 T +-1110RBow—Morn. 16 min. aft. 5 —Evening 39 min. aft. 5 THE WEATHER--Sux OFFICE, APRIL 2S. THERMOMETER, IN THR SHADE. 57—highest since noon yesterday. 43—lowost this morning and during the night. 69—this day at noon. BAROMETER, 29'6 1 . WIND, E.—Light, with very fins sunshiny weather. -› A r , -L)Z ffiune -v LONDON, FRIDAY, APRIL 25,' 1856. No allusion has at yet been made in. Parlia ment to the terms of .the " Precious Treaty," Which are now generally known and commented on. Ministers desire to postpone the discussion to the latest possible moment ; to delay and pro crastinate while auy excuse can be offered. They are by no means insensible to the state of public opinion, and must feel rather uneasy at the pro spect of an impeachment ; which, although un usual in modern times, may still be resorted to in cases of political turpitude. We believe that they are not the chief delinquents, but they are the parties primarily responsible, who must answer to the country for the sacrifice of its honour and its interests. We fear that the interchange of Imperial and Royal visits between France and England was by no means so beneficial to the Allied nations as was supposed at the time. We scarcely think that quite so cordial a reception would now be given to NAPOLEON the Third as he received twelve months ago. He was then associated with England in carrying out objects supposed to be for the promotion of the cause of liberty and civilisa tion all over the world. He was not then solely actuated by a desire to consolidate and strengthen a new dynasty, and to conciliate despots, and, if possible, induce them to rally round the cradle of an Imperial infant. No selfish motives were then manifested, and he obtained the enthusiastic greeting which he deserved ; nor had he displayed the " Germanic" tendencies which have since been exhibited. The private and confidential conferences that took place were by no means calculated to advance the welfare of the Peoples. German models were exalted, and we can recognise the results in the systematic efforts made to degrade and humiliate the British Parliament, and to extinguish the in dependent press in Belgium—probably as the fore runner of a similar onslaught on the liberty of journalism in this country. We have this day extracted from a morning contemporary a report of a speech made by Count WALEWSKI to the Congress of which he was the President, fcr the purpose of endeavouring to "gag" journalism throughout Europe—Fiat expe rimentum corpore Belgium_ xaay safely be threatened, because she is unable to defend herself, and therefore the fundamental and constitutional laws of the country must be sacrificed at the dictation of a foreign poten tate. But does not every Englishman feel that the admonition is practically addressed to this country ? Would be not at once acknowledge the applioability of the declaration, de to fabula narratur ? If the laws of Belgium do not em power its Government to repress what Count WALEWSKI is pleased to term " the excesses of the ,press"—if it is unable to take the initiative in a reform which he considers " absolutely indis pensable," the English Government is placed in a similar category, and every threat of a resort to physical force—which was more than hinted at, is directed as well against Great Britain as against Belgium ; and most assuredly, Lo matter what party may hold office, the peopl e of England w ill notsubmit to a remonstran ce which, as C oun t WALEWSKI candidly acknow ledged, may greatly " resemble a threat." It would be well for LOUIS NAPOLEON to re member that Kings and Emperors are made for the benefit of Peoples—not Peoples for their rulers. " The greatest good to the greatest num ber" is a principle still recognised, at all events in Great Britain. The lesson may also be useful nearer heme. The Prince Consort may beneficially learn that "England for the English, and not for the Germans," has become a household word, re cognised thtougbout the length and breadth of the laud. We have our Oleil.l timellououred con- , titu€iom and fundamental law, which we shall not alter to suit Coburg tastes. In these matters he will find the People eminently conservative. There will be "no surrender," anti Prussian alliances or French co-operation will not induce us to yield a particle of those privi leges which are identified with the freedom and liberty of the people. England shall still remain the sanctuary of the oppressed—the place of re fuge for political fugitives from every country. Although we may not agree with all their opi nions, or sympathise with their aspirations, so long as they conduct themselves properly and violate no law, they shall not be expelled from the British dominions. It is now of peculiar importance that Parlia ment should closely and strictly scrutinise the Treaty in all its details, and investigate the causes that led to the acceptance of terms in every re spect so inadequate, and so far beneath what might have been obtained. Something should he done, while there is yet time, to avoid the im pending danger, and which may lead to conse quences by no means agreeable to the parties con cerned. Nothing can tend more effectually to bring the majesty of the law into contempt and disre pute than the passing of enactments that can• not be enforced—and which are not even calcu lated to be generally respected. The prohibition which can be safely disregarded, and the violation whereof brings with it neither punishment nor disgrace, is, at best, a mere brutum fulmen, which should forthwith be expunged from the national statute book. Such is the case with the Marriage Act of 1835. The Commissioners appointed to inquire into the state and operation of the law of marriage as relating to the prohibited degrees of affinity, not only declared that the obnoxious statute " had failed to attain its object," but also expressed a serious doabt " whether any measure of a prohibitory character would be effectual," emphatically adding—" These marriages will take place when a concurrence of circumstances give rise to mutual attachment; they are not depend ent on legislation." To demonstrate the inutility of such enactments, the pious Prelate and eminent gentlemen who had so closely investigated the subject in all its details, made the following declaration of their deliberate opinions—" We are not inclined to think, that such attachment and marriages would be extensively increased in num ber were the law to permit them ; because, as we have said, it is not the state of the law, prohibitory or permissive, which has governed, or as we think, ever will effectually govern, them." The enactment being thus practically invalid— not preventing the contracting of such marriages, which would not even be materially increased in number were they expressly sanctioned and recog nised—should at once be repealed. It is exceed ingly impolitic to let the notion get abroad that any law may be "more honoured in the breach than in the observant-," or that it may be habi tually and systematically disregarded with im punity. The only parties who can by a possibility be injured are the innocent offspring,. the helpless children who may, without any fault of their own, be deprived of the inheritance of their fore fathers, and branded with ignominy, that should rather fall on the legislators who assented to so iniquitous an Act, than on its youthful victims. The question has been argued on two perfectly distinct grodnds—on the Divine law, and on that of social expediency. If there were any clear or express Scriptural prohibition, the matter would at once be disposed of ; but so far from that being the case, the 18th Leviticus, v. 18, which has been generally referred to, affords the strongest argu ment in favour of the lawfulness of such marriages —"Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the the other, in her life-time." This law was pro mulgated when polygamy was not only sanctionel, but almost universally practised. Dr. OHILMERS, no mean authority on Scriptural questions, de clared " the prohibition was only against marrying a wife's sister during the life-time of the first wife, which of itself implies a liberty to marry the sister after her death." We might multiply authorities on this part of the case, might cite opinions of distinguished Prelates and Judges, but it is un necessary to do so. The theological ground, which in 1835, at the time of the passing of the obnoxious Act, was erroneously and without due examination assumed to be conclusive, has, as we recently stated, long since been generally and definitively abandoned, and the advocates for re striction have been compelled to shift their ground to the more convenient one of " expediency," on which they are compelled to make a final stand. On this point, too, we are are prepared to join issue with them, in the broadest and most exten sive signification of the phrase. Bat first let the question be placed on a right foundation. It is not whether the marriage is expedient, but is its prohibition expedient ? It is not whether it is the most desirable union possible (although we believe it may be argued on that ground), but is it so reprehensible in itself, so injurious to the best interests of society in general,• or of the orphan children of the widower, that it must be forbidden at any cost—even that of bringing about a systematic violation of the law ? Many marriages may be unwise and inexpedient which could not, therefore, be prohibited. A marriage between persons of different ranks, or where there is a great disparity of years, would naturally be regarded as very injudicious ; but could any general law bo framed against them, rendering them null and void ab initi9 ? That is the real question, and although we may enter into a -wider view of the important subject, the advocates of liberty of action in the most sacred and interesting relation of life should not be restricted in the fair discussion of the only point in which the Legislature can deal with it. Experience teaches us that whenever these anions are legal, that is to say, in every Protestant country of the world excepting Eng land, they are regarded as the most eligible and praiseworthy that can be contracted. J u lge STORY, one of the most eminent jurists that ever lived, declared that "so far from being doubtful they are deemed the very best sort of marriages ;" adding—" In my whole life I never heard the slightest suggestion against them funded on moral or domestic considerations." Dr. ADLER., an unexceptionable authority on everything con nected with the Mosaic law, while decl firing that there is not the least doubt as to their being sanc tioned by the Divine law, adds, that in Olden burg and Hanover, where they are frequent, " they had almost invariably proved happy ;" and ROBERT SOUTHEY, while declaring the law to be " an abominable relic of ecclesiastical tyranny," had no hesitation in saying that "of all second marriages they are the most suitable, and likely to be the most frequent if the law did not some times prevent them." But why multiply evidence ? It requires not the citation of eminent names to prove what is perceptible to any man of common under standing. It stands to reason that the aunt of the orphan children, who had learned parentis even b e , to Wye them : and to act in, /coo fore the assumption of a new relationship, would treat them with greater kindness and considera tion than a mere stranger, who regards them as rivals for the affections which she desires to see exclusively devoted to herself and her own off spring. On every part of the case, the bill brought forward by Lord ST. GERMANS should receive the Legislative sanction. It is at the same time just and politic. If carried, it will prevent the habitual disregard of the statutory enactments— will prevent the conflict of laws between diffe rent parts of the United Kingdom—of seeing marriages recognised at one side of the Tweed which are illegal at the other—of seeing children of similar marriages legitimate if the nuptials have been celebrated in some countries, while they are debarred of their birthrights if their parents could not afford a trip to the Continent—thus render ing it, after all, a mere matter of £ s. d., making one law for the rich and another for the poor. These are matters that should be avoided, and the passing of the bill introduced by Lord ST. GERMANS will remove this anomaly, and render justice to many of our fellow-subjects, truly described as persons "of religious and moral character," who would not appear in opposition to any reasonable law. We cannot conclude without directing attention to the numerous and unanswer able authorities cited in the address of " The Mar riage Law Reform Association," which will be found in another part of this day's impression. Let any person who may retain any scruple on the point peruse these evidences without bias or prejudice, and say, if he can, that the unnatural and un equitable restrictions should any longer remain a blot on the national escutcheon—a disgrace to the British statute-book. r ' _ _ It is a somewhat awkward comment on the operation of the system of limited competition for employment in the civil service that it mul tiplies patronage, does not prevent the intrusion of a large proportion of wholly incompetent can didates, and to a great extent excludes from com petition the members of a class richest in official qualifications. The great evil of the old system was that it was made an instrument of Parliamentary cor• ruption. Candidates for seats in Parliament, or members fishing for re-election, had it in their power to offer a quid pro quo to voters who shrank from barefaced bribery—places in the Customs or Excise for their sons or relatives for their support at the poll. This, however, could only be done with a few, the number of officials required being limited, and unpleasant consequences arising from more promises being made than could be fulfilled. Under the present system both members of Parliament and Govern ment may be said to have their patronage more than doubled—the nominations, to which we know of no limit, greatly ex3eeding the appointments. True, the patronage is of an inferior quality, but not unlikely, we conceive, to be quite as effective for evil as that which is abolished. That the selection of a superior class of candi dates is not insured is evident from the instances adduced by Lord GODERICH. It surely says little for limited competition that in the Customs, out of 106 candidates, 42, or more than one-third, should have been rejected for the , grossest igno rance ; and at the Admiralty, out of '54 candidates, 19, or a like proportion, should have been sent back on the same grounds ; and this with a large sand highly intelligent mid dle class, full of anxiety for the disposal of their sons, but too high-spirited to truckle per sonal independence for their preferment. The fact speaks for itself, and pronounces the condem nation of the, system of limited competition. It not only preserves and multiplies patronage, but it excludes a meritorious class, and practically limits the chances of the country being well served, far from the character of the rejected candidates that of the accepted may not unfairly be inferred. On the face of it the principle of limited competition is a blunder, all the arguments in defence of which, we will add, may readily be disposed of. No complicated machinery is necessary to exe!ude incompetent candidates. All that is required may be found in every parish, to be exercised without fear and without favour. The only difficulty in the way is the evil, from the effects of which the country has suffered so severely, and which Admi nistrative Reformers would give the coup de grace. The position of the advocates of open competition is unassailable--the larger the number of eligible candidates the better the opportunity to select high-class servants, high alike in character, adap tability, and talent. BRUIN'S PEACE. Say, is Old England knave or fool ? Which evil is the stronger— Thus to wrap Bruin's claws in wool, To let them grow the longer ! MARCO. GRINLING GIBBONS' CARVINGS. RESTORED BY W. G. ROGERS• It is a melancholy fact that the exquisite wood carvings of that Velvet Brueghel of the chisel, that Michelangelo del Canipidoglio of the wainscot, Grinling Gibbons—are crumbling to dust upon the walls of various public churches and private mansions throughout the United Kingdom. Won derful works of art—works of art quite matchless in their way—these carvings by Gibbons are perishing (not becoming merely injured, but lite rally perishing) at Wollaston, Petworth, Burleigh, Belton, Chatsworth, Oxford, Windsor, Cambridge, Cashiobury, Hampton Court, Gosford House, Lowther Castle, and elsewhere. A little while longer—and there must be an end to even the faintest hope of their preservation. A terrible decay has been slowly consuming their very sub stance during upwards of a century and a half— insects honeycombing the interior, and mildew spreading insidiously over the exterior, of these rare and inestimable productions. The destruc tive effects of this double disease (from within and from without) have already so far advanced in regard to the majority of these same famous carvings from the chisel of Grinling Gibbons, that any one on examining into their condition might reasonably enough suppose that, even now, it were altogether hopeless to dream of saving them from total, and apparently inevitable, destruction. Imagine for instance —some of these most beauti ful old " carvellings," masterpieces of artist handicraft from the hand that fabricated Lord Orford's celebrated " point lace knot," once the pride of Strawberry Hill, and now the property of Miss Burdett Cutts : imagine for an instant, we say —some o f these • exquisite carvings by Gib bons (festoons of flowers for example like those preserved among the art-collections of the Earl of Dchester): imagine these lovely but ill-fated products of genius, taste, and ingenuity, so decayed,so worm-eaten, so mildewed, that a child might crumble them up to dust by the mere pressure of them between thumb and finger ! And observe—this is no exaggeration ! The carvings of Grinling Gibbons aro in the vast majority of instances thus decayed, and worm eaten, and mildewed. Light and brittle as poppy busks with the gnawing of insects at their interior ! Blooming with a faint whitish superficial bloom by reason of the outer mildew—a bloom as charming in its way but 45 fatal ae the hectic of omparap. tion ! What is that our poet-laureate sings about the sea-shell in " Maud" ? See what a lovely shell, Small and pure as a pearl, Lying close to my foot, Frail, but a work divine, Made so fairily well, With delicate spire and whorl, How exquisitely minute, A miracle of design. It is, for all the world, just the very image of a shell, a flower, a fruit, carved " fairily well " in wood by the magical tools of Grinling Gibbons ! But—mark what Tennyson adds while still musing over the sea-shell— Slight, to be crushed with the tap Of my finger nail on the sand, Small, but a work divine. The carvings of Grinling Gibbons still to a T-- this delicate description ! As slight, as fragile— time has rendered them by reason of the worm preying at their heart and the mildew deposited upon their surface. Yet thus perishing, thus blighted, thus eaten into a honeycomb, these same wonderful carvings have been proved to be capable, even now, of the most effec tual, the most complete, the most perfect pre servation. Several exquisite specimens restored all but miraculously by Mr. W. G. Rogers—an artist-carver, thoroughly imbued with a love for the genius, and an appreciation of the works of Grinling Gibbons—have within the last two or three days been on view at No. 54, Strand. They are specimens from the walls of Belton House, the domain of the Earl of Brownlow. They repre sent " drops" of dead-game, fruit, and flowers. Originally—before they were touched by Mr. Rogers—they were in the deplorable condition we have described. Shaken—they showered down a cloud of dry powdery dust ! Compressed—they crumbled into so much fibre, like mere touchwood! Now—on the contrary—they are firm, hard, solid ; shining with all the gloss of their first polish, but dark with the mellow darkness of age —and so far, at least, we may be certain, more beautiful than when they first left the workshop studio of the Great Carver ! Yet they are strictly, and literally, and actually the works not of Rogers —they are strictly, and literally, and actually the works of Gibbons. The modus operandi of the restorer may be readily enough described. Impri mis he carefully takes photographs (for after guid ance and comparison)—photographs of the carvings prior to their removal from the place where they have been slowly perishing as very precious but /le -1 glected ornaments. Next—he immerses these worm-eaten carvings bodily in a strong solution of corrosive sublimate, thereby most successfully " destroying" the secret cause of " destruction." Subsequently he restores the original colour to the wood (lost by the influence first of all of the mildew, and afterwards of the corrosive subli mate), doing this by means of another very simple chemical application. Thereupon having adroitly accomplished all this—he most ingeni ously imparts strength and body to the fragile woodwork by injecting into its honeycombed in terior, little by little, a magical compound of vegetable gum and gelatine. Ultimately—to crown all—putting the separate pieces delicately together according to the original design of Grinling Gibbons as preserved in the photograph —and so—voila tout—here before us is the solid, substantial, accurate, all but miraculous restora tion ! Here and there of course a chipped-off fragment has to be supplied, but this only when such an addition is perceived to be absolutely necessary for the sake of completeness. Yonder a bunch of primroses —here the claw of a duck —there two or three of the wing-feathers of a woodcock. But invariably —at these times where a positive flaw has to be rectified, or a splinter repaired—the addition is effected by the restorer with a wonderfully reverential regard for, the obvious design of the broken masterpiece. Out of all which delicate care, and exquisite caution, and scrupulous and conscientious handling of these lovely fabrications of the taste and genius of Grinling Gibbons—there come forth (under the loving hands of one of the latest and most successful of Ilia disciples) these marvellous, and almost magical, and all but miraculous restora tions. TILE NAVAL REVIEW. -.0.- The Houses of Parliament—Lords and Commons —are most genuinely angry, and so much in ear nest in their anger, that they are not very parti cular whom they fall foul of. And, to say the truth, one cannot expect that men should be in a perfectly reasonable state who have just returned battered and worn, with their wives tired, tattered, and torn, from a calamitous journey, undertaken to see a national spectacle, got up for their special amosement and instruction, but which, after all, though they were dragged out of their beds at five o'clock on the one morning, and kept out of them till six the next morning, they only succeeded in being too late for. It is very natural, too, that the faithful Commons should be especially annoyed and disgusted at the Admiralty treating them with some parsimony, the practice of which they have so often forced upon the country, and their tables on hoard their pleasure steamers spread on the same pi inciple which they have for years so syste matically applied to the public service. The legis lative temper could not stand such a practical joke as this —turning the tables on them by making a contract with Mr. Quartermaine of Crown and Sceptre renown for seven shillings and sixpence a-head for breakfast and dinner. Only bser and soda water on board the Perseverance and Transit, while champagne flowed on board the Pacific ; only cold roast beef and plain roast fowls on the tables of the former, while those of the latter were covered with truffied turkeys, and what, in the language of artistes, are termed the delicacies of the season-- all suppliel in perfection by the same host of the Crown and Sceptre. It was too much of a joke to be taken as a good one. Sir Charles Wood has done wisely to keep himself sheltered at Ports mouth during the burst of the Parliamentary storm. However, it must be owned, to ire the term made famous by the paragraph in the Royal Speech on the battle of Navarino, that the Southampton business was an "untoward" affair, and we suspect " the raven down of darkness of Parliament will take a good deal of stroking before it smiles again." A personal collision with the House of Commons the Government may find a much more awkward affair to manage than a political difference, and we should not b e th e l east surpr i sed i f the house was to take its revenge to-night by putting an extinguisher upon the fireworks which have al ready made such a splutter and fizzing. It is a pity that this question of the fireworks, which the Government has contrived to stumble over, was not brought under the notice of Parliament in a different manner. If a member of the Administra tion had just come quietly down, and, at the pro per time, simply stated that, in accordance with precedent, it was intended to have a display of fireworks to celebrate the ratification of the peace, and that the Board of Works intended to put up a building in each of the parks for the purpose, the proposition would have been accepted, as a matter of course, and nothing, in all probability, would have been thought or said about the matter. But, from the mode in which the business has been (lane, th© Louse has conceived a notion that there has been an attempt to jockey them, and they are proportionably angry. There was, no doubt, no such intention, and steps being taken without first consulting Parliament was, probably, the result of simple bungling inadvertence. The awkward part of the business, however, is that the hesitation of the house, and the discussion that has ensued and promises to be continued, has tended to give a new and untrue aspect to the question ; and the letting off of these fireworks may come to be con sidered as bearing a political significance, and as ' furnishing to Europe an indication of the feelings of the British people upon the peace. If such an idea should gain possession of the public mind, it will create, in all probability, considerable hostility to the display; for the country, upon the whole, is not disposed to rejoice in the conclusion of the war. Reason is satisfied, no doubt, by the peace, in fact and in terms, but Feeling is not contented. Every , man must recognise it to be a truth that the Go vernmen t would. have been most unjustifiable —nay, wick ed—to have refused peace when such terms were offered as have been secured; but a very large proportion of the population would rather, as a matter of feeling, that peace had not been tendered, and that Russia has given us fair occasion to show in a new campaign what we could do with the com plete army and the magnificent navy which has been organised by the vigour and ability of our Government. We believe there exists a very ex tensive and strong feeling of this character, and those who entertain it will unquestionably view with reluctance any display which can be construed abroad as being an indication of rejoicing that we are relieved from the burden of continued war. — Morning Post. 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