The Sun. — London, England, 1854-03-03 00:00:00

day o says : midents Aorious eh have 'stances ie com- ding in cement 1 a few, Minis• august R, W. .LA Lis la n whack blisl ted harl'ed hneo as gra ►e entl s of mry 1 to r e ss, and rnme at in co a- muerte ad pro• max" ng and th ult. nniense air -a ray kinatiad. ',counts detach- Lt roe s Nrere, h them• liken is ,to the ma who killed, several report tuesea, 5. ero and I set at , of the e arrest by the assem on cer had not i. The a been usia on to give of the arrests icalarly corree• t of the t at the with the onzalez is!ports intend ossa is t from inenr- Dr them to the ntity of ree per it elms, 1 steam ay at 3 gn West nd Cali- ►iT co the im- spirits forty. Sage of igdorn. isump. person e num hie in use of sidered 'nee of re the tted at le, and -I am AT.) Adolph, mils; I, from is, for it, for ivied--- I. M.B. mine, ;hiena, ff Port Now for the Alpha, g been is, the 'ester, b., off Hull. in the I done Mien aently Ro (s), Zneen !yons, :obile. SHARE MARKETS. (THIS DAY.) BRITISH RAILWAYS. Owing Prices this day. Business dons this day. RAILWAYS. Aberdeen Ambg. Nottng. Bost and Basta. Jtuact Belfast & Ballymena Binning. Wolverh. & Steur Valley Birkenhd. Lanesh. & Cheshire Junet Do. Chesh. di Birk., £5O and £25 Cons. Do., .£2O Blyth &Tyne original £25 (issd. at £45) Bristol and Exeter edonian Chester & Holyhead. Cork and Bandon [rk, Black, &Pass Cornwall Crieff Junction Dublin&BelfastJune Dundee Perth &Aber deen Junstion Do. New...... East Anglian 0., (.£lB E & H) Bastern Counties tern Union, A ipq 41 1.00 LOO - Stock Do., B. Stock Do - ., New A East Lancashire Edinburgh & Glasgow Edinb. and Peebles. ' Edin.Prth. &Dundee . ' Forth & Clyde June.' lasgow & S. Western Great Northern Stk. 1:1o., A. Stock Do., B. Stock ....... . Gt. Sth. StWest.(lre.) Great Western Irish South-Eastern Lancaster St Carlisle Do. ' Thirds Do. New Thirds Laneash.andYorksh Do., Fifths D 0., Wet. Riding Un Leeds Northern Liv.Creby.&Southpt London & Blackwell Loud. Tilb. & Sthend. I Loud. Bright & B.Cet. Loud. and N. Weetn.l Do. Fifths . . Do. Eighths London andll. Westn D 0.,. £5O Do., £4O Lndndrry& Coleraine Lndndrry. & Ennisk. Manch.Shef. & Lincin Do., Man. & Lin. Un Midland Do. Birmng. & Darby Midld. G. West. (Ire.) o. Half Shares Newcastle & Carlisle Newmarket Do., Bury Extension Nwpt.Aberg. & Hrfd Newry & Enniskillen Newry Warrenpoini, and Rostrevor. Norfolk Northn.Counties Un North British North Devon, No. 1 0., No. 2 Do., i A Deferred 0., i B Guaranteed orth London o. New £lO N. &S. Wstrn. ,Hamp stead, and City Jn North Staffordshire North Western N. & S. Westrn. June Nuneaton, Hinckley, and Leicester , Oxford, Worcester, & Wolverhampton Portsmouth Scottish Central Scottish Midland Shrewsbury & Bh mg Do.. L. & N. Western Guaranteed &c.a Shrewsby. & Berefd Shrewsby. & Chester (N. W. Min i.—. Do. Halves,a • Do. Oswestry Shropshire Union Do. A, B, C,& D,fully paid up at per cent South Devon uth Eastern uth Wales S. Yrksh. & Riv. Dun Do taines,Wok. &Wok Stockton & Darling, tockton & Butlepl ff Vale . . 10. XlO shares. 10. Pref., No. 1 'hames Haven Dock and Railway rale of Neath :&terfd. & Kilkenny) aterfordtkLimerici West Cornwall West End of London and Crystal Palace est London Wimbledn k Croydon York Newetl.Szßerw. Do. Extensions Do. G.N.E. Purchase York & N. Midland PREFERENI Aberdeen Do. No. 2, 7 p. C. Blyth and Tyne 10 per c. pref. (feed. at SOO Eris. & Ex. 4 p. c. St. Do. 4 p. c. Shares Caledonian £lO Chester & Holyhead Guar. 5i per cent Cork &Bandonslp.c Dundee Perth &Aber deen Junction EastAnglian (X3los) 6 per cent Do. (Z 5) 7 per cent Do. (.£7 17s) 7 p. c Eastern Counties Ex tension, 5 p. c. No.l Do. No. 2 . Do. New 6 p. c. St. Eastern Uniou, Scrip Guar. 6 per cent Do. 51., 10 per coat Do. 101. Debentr.Sh- East Lancash.6 p. cts. East and West York shire June. Pref EdinbPrth. &Dundee 54 per cent. Glasgow & S. Western Guar. 5 per cent Great Northn. 5 p. c Do. 5 p. c. Redeem , at 10 p. c. prem. Do. 44 p. c. Scrip Gt. N. of Scot, ist Pre Gt, Southn. &Westm. (Ireland) Eighths) Do. 4 per c. Prof. Sh. Gt. Westn. (Berke & Hants Ex. 5 p. c) Do .cov. red. 4i p.c. Do. con. red. 4 p. c. Do. irred. 4 p. c lan. &York. F. £2O Do. 6 p. c. Stock Leeds N. 6 p. c. No.l Do. Quarters, 1848... London and Bright°. Guaranteed 5 p. c Do. Pref., 5 p. c. St. Do. Convertible, 5 p.) c., 1852 Do. New Guar.6 p. c Lon. &N. W., Coy. & Nuneaton London & S. Western Con. Thirds Londonderry& Coler i Shares Lonely. St Ennis. i Sh Man., Shef., be Lin , i Shares, No. 1. Do. New, £lO Do. £6 itarypt . & Carl. 4 p.e, Do. 4. per cent Do Mid. Consol.6 p e.St. Do. Consol. Bristol St Birm. 6 per cent Do. Pref. 4 per cent Norfolk Debenture Do. Prof. 4 p. c. Stock Do. 5 p. c. Eat Do. 56 per ct .pref Do. Way. Val. 5 p. c I North British North Staffordshire Oxford, Worcester, & Wolyerh. Xl5, 6 p.c Do.. Sco ,t. Cent. , New Pref >hrews- &Birm.N.G. ihrewsby. k Chester (Nor.W.Min), 8 p.c. Do. 5 per cent South Devon De. fixed, 4i per cent, S. Eastern (Reading' Ann.) of LI. Os. &LI Do. 4 per cent. B.Yorksh.4p.c.Guar. Stockton and Dar- lington, 4 per cent. Do. do. do.' Stockton and Hartle- pool, guar. 5 p. c. till Ist July, 1856 Water fcl.&liilk .6p.c. York, Newcastle,o.nrl Berwick,4 p.c. Pref. Do York&N. Midland H had O. Parch zoi 214 5 - 8i 9 12 —lO cl 16 18 6i sed 94 - 96 55i - 56 15 -16 i 12i • 131 ii ii 7! - 12i - 13; 64 - 66 62 - 64 ii 7- -- 27 90 91! 79 81 125 - 127 95 - 97 78 - 801 92 -- 95 121 12 -- 13 13ip p 67i -67 f 6f -- ••• - ••• 15 - 17 Par P 96i 1 . 02 1 P d 841 1 10 - 9 d 9 7d 22 - 23 614 - 62 35 - 37 d Par 5 6 8 48 50 31 - 3id 34 ... 35 - - n 52 - 55 6 - 5f 74 - 8 32 - 34 88 90 54 b 6 58 62 55 60 3 2d 16 -- 18 8 -- 9 12 -- 13 3i -31 d 15 1 63 64 35 36 2 d par 4 5 30 = ii ... - NO ...... ••• 21 - Z 15 157 U - 54 - 26 6 - 7 • • •• - •• 6 - 7 69 70 4} 3d 49 -- 50 SHARES. 99 = ik 61 - 6j 3 ----- 4 - IP ... xd 31 - 3i .6 ---: 07 —109: Par — 4 P: 7i-81 ..-xa 6 3 / 4 98 100 90 95 94 96 - Pa 13 139 •• • ".... 14, ... ... xd 1 2i —2l xcll ii - 'l3 9i 107 i par iPxd .36 138 11 ---id xd ... xd ... id ••• ...".. ad ad 102 - 104 i - 1p 9i -- 10 16i -- 17 10 -10 i 13 -- 15 id -- i i 23i -- 24 ii = 19 93 95xd 3} 4 xd , !!" all all [OO all all 4i all all 10i' 100 100 1 15 all all all 10 all 14 all FOREIGN. 10 7 Antwerp&Rotterdam 31 3 d 5 3 Belgian Eastn. June. 1 11 20 8 Beziers toGraissessa.c 4/ —31 d 20 29. Bombay, Baroda, and Central India,Scrip id 1 p pm . . Central of Italy — 20 all Charleroi& Erquelin — 171 all Demerara 20 14 Dijon and Besancon — 20 8 Dutch Rhenish 20 all East Indian 24 —21 p 20 2 Do. Extension — •if 5 all Gt. Indian Peninsula /1 1 p 20 10 Gd. Junct. of France . . 25 10 Grd. Trunk of Canada . 51 —44 d 100 30 Do. Debentures — 100 all Do. do • 20 10 Gt. Central of France 2/ —2l d 201 all GtWesternof Cana Shares 1 —2 p 22 Do. Bands (Ist is.)'s7 . . • 204 154 Hamilton & Toronto —11 p 100 all Do. 6 per cent. 20 5 Lake Const & Basle 5 all Lucca & Pistoj asp. c pref — dim 20 15 Luxembourg 7 71 10 10 Do. (Railway) 4l 5 4t 5 2 Do. Pref 1 11 5 3 Do. (Canal) 1 1 10 5 Do. 6p. ct. pref.__ 1 ia 20 8 Lyons and Geneva 20 12 Lyons & Mediterran 20 10 Madras ld par 10f 331 3.3 i Maria Antonia 10 -all Do. do. New 20 2 Melbourne Dk. do Ry 20 all Namur dr Liege (with interest) 7l 71 20 all Do. (ex interest) — 16 all Northern of France 294 291 294 Do. 201.3 p. c Bds 20 all (fmy. B. dr Ams. Shs.) 10 all NorwegianTrunkPre 7} 81 20 10 Paris and Lyons 124 —121 p 40 all Ditto Bonds 10 all Paris and Orleans 42 —44 20 all Paris and Rouen 34 —36 xd 351 20 all Paris and Strasbourg 284 281 20 10 ParisCaen&Cherbrg• ••• —pm 101 101 Quebec & Richmond 3 1 d 20 all Rouen and Havre 20 9 Royal Danish ld par 5 2 Royal Swedish — d 20 all Sambre and Meuse_ 8 81 6 Do. 51 p. cent. Prof. 20 6 Southern of France —pm 20 6 St. Andrew's and Quebec (A) — 81 all West Flanders 3l 44 10 all Do. 51 per c. . . d. 20 10 Western of France._ . 21 3 p 10 7 West. of Switzerland a 20 2 Wiesbaden 20 15 Zealand ••• 5 — 4 • d MISCELLANEOUS 5 all 'Rubin Coal and Iron' 25 171 Australian Agricult. 41 43 20 14 lustralsn.Pcific.Mail 101 11 10 8 &ustraln. Royal Mail 10 4 Berlin Water Works 50 38/ Brit. American Land 74 76 5 1 Brit. dr Coln. Smeltg. and Reduction Co . . 100 321 Canada 75 80 5 5 Crystal Palace ll —llp 61 1 5 4 Do. New. 4 2 Crystal Pal. of France ... p 20 3 Eastern Steam — 25 20 ElectritTelegraph(A) 17 18 25 all Do. (B) ••• 1 1 Electric Teleg. of Ir — 15 14 Gen. Steam Navigat — 20 18 General Screw Steam 151 20 71 Irish Beetroot Sugar 20 10 Magdalena St. Navig. 1 all Nat. Pat. Steam Fuel 10 3 Netherlands Laud 3 2 d 2 1 N. S. W. Coal & Inter Steam Navigat. Co 1 all N. B. Australasian par— 1 p 1 1 Do. New — 20 10 Nrth.ofEnropeSteam . . 5 all Peel Rr. Ld. & Minrl. .4d par 50 all Peninsular& Oriental 50 30 Do. Do. ... 35 2 all Portland Iron Co iP 100 60 Royal Mail Steam 1 all Scot. Austral. Invest 1 . 1 25 25 South Austral. Land 38 40 1 all Submar. Telegraph Ad ipxd all Do. Registered. id par 100 2Bl Van Diemen's Land 13 —l4 - - MARKET NEWS-(THIS DAY.) CORN EXCHANGE. The quantity of English wheat on offer in to-day's mar ket was very moderate, but in somewhat improved condi tion. For most kinds the demand was steady, and by no means brisk, at Monday's advance in the quotations. For forward delivery very little was doing. The imports of foreign wheat have exceeded 16,000 qrs., chiefly from the westward. Good red Baltic parcels were held for more money ; but the actual business doing was moderate, at the prices obtained last week. Floating cargoes sold on former terms. Barley was in good supply, and fair request, at full quotations. The oat trade was firm, and good sound corn was the turn dearer. _ In beans and peas, very little was doing. Flour commanded previous rates. The imports continue on a liberal scale. Wheat. 2,310 ARRIVALS THIS WEER. Barley. I Malt. 4,530 3,230 Oats. I Flour. English .. Irish •• • • torelipa .. 16,850 I 8,990 240 sks 13,010 brl SMITHFIELD. To-day's market was moderately supplied with beasts, for which the demand ruled inactive, at Monday's decline in the quotations. Sheep—the supply of which was by no means extensive—moved off slowly, at unaltered cur rencies. There were a few lambs and shearlings on offer. We had a good demand for calves, at extreme currencies. In pigs very little was doing. Milch cows were dull, at from 141. to 13d. each, including their small calf. Per 81bs to sink the offals. s. d. s. d. Inferior Beasts.... 3 2to 3 4 Second quality.... 3 6 3 8 Prime large oxen 310 4 2 Prime Scots, dm. 4 4 4 6 1 Inferior Sheep ...3 0 3 4 Second quality ...3 6 4 2 Prime crse.-wiled.4 4 4 6 s. d. s. d. PrimeSouthdowu 4 8 6 0 Large crse. calves 4 6 5 2 Prime small d 0... 5 4 5 8 Large hogs 3 0 4 2 Small porkers 4 4 4 8 Sucklingcalves ..22 0 28 0 Quarter old pigs 21 0 26 0 TOTAL SUPPLY. Beasts .:...... „........ 1,090 Sheep ..... Calves .• —••••—•• •• •• 210 Pigs .••••••••••••••••••• 350 YOZEIGN surny. -- Beasts •. Sheep •• •• •• •• •• •• •• •• 4BO Calves..." •• •• •• •• —•••• •• 180 Pigs•••• •••• t• es •••• 000000 ••••• NEWGATE AND LEADENHALL. The general demand was in a sluggish state, at the fol lowing quotations : Per Sibs by the caroase. s. d. s. d. Beef, inferior 3 0 3 4 Do., middling 3 6 3 8 Do., prima large 3lO 4 0 Do., do. small ~ 4 2 4 4 Pork, large 3 4 4 2 B. d. s. d. ➢lutton, Inferior 3 0 3 6 Do., middling 3 8 4 2 Do., prime 4 4 4 6 Veal 3 8 5 4 Pork, small 4 4 5 0 BOROUGH HOP. Although a moderate business is doing in our market, prices, owing to the large quantities of foreign hops on offer, are still drooping. This week's imports are 5 bales from Antwerp, and 65 from Ostand. The quotations are— Mid and East Kent pockets 71. I.os to W. lls ; Weald of Kent ditto, 6Z. 6s tc) 7i. 7s ; Sussex ditto, 61. 09 to 71. Os per cwt. COLONIAL. SUGAR.—The quantity of West India brought forward being limited, business has been checked. Firm prices have been obtained for some parcels sold by private con tract. East India—Some out of condition Bengal was held for extreme prices, and at auction Madras went at a slight decline for the inferior kinds, but the rest brought previous rates, viz., low to good brown 27s 6d to 295, low to mid yellow 29s 6d to 31s 6d, good 32s to 32s 6d, and 26s to 271 per cwt for date. Privately, grainy Madras went at 36s to 36s 6d for mid. Mauritius of good strong quality realised 6d per cwt advance, good and fine strong dry brown selling at 33s to 35s 6d, mid to good grocery 35s 6d to 38s, and mid to fine dry strong refining 35s to 39s per cwt. Foreign— There has been a good inquiry at full quotations. Bahia brought 33s sa for brown, and Egyptian 33s 6d to 34s perowt. Havannah sold at 37s to 41s 6d, for mid to fine soft at 38s Gd to 40s Gd, for mid to fine grainy yellow, and at 33.9 Gd to Ms for brown washed ; low to good soft brown found buyers at 34s to 35s 6d, low to mid yellow at 36s at 37s 6d, and good dry strong at 38s to 39s 6d per cwt. White in bond went at 27s 6d, for good and washed at 25s Gd to 26. 6d for mid to good. Refined has been in moderate request, bruwn lumps at 445, and grocery at 44s 6d to 50s per cwt. COFFEE. —Plantation Ceylon has been rather quiet, but a few sales have been effected at full prices. Mid to good bold colony of favourite market brought 57s to 665, fine ord brownish to low mid 52s to 565, peaberry at 665, triage at 48s to 52s 6d, and blacks at 31s 6d per cwt. Natives has been dull, good or d so ld at 47 5, an d superior at 57s 6d. Jamaica brought 49s to 59s for good ord pale to mid. colony. Alexandria Mocha was taken in at 603 for mid green clean garbled. COCOA.—In Trinidad very little has been done, and mid to good red has been take n i n a t 36s Gd to 38s, and ord to good grey at 32s to 35s per cwt. RlCE.—This article has been dull. Being all sold pub licly at 15s to 15s 6d for mid to good white, but has since been taken in at 15s to 16s for the same description. Pinkey Madras was taken in at 14s 6d for mid, but first class damaged sold at 13s 6d per cwt, and privately low mid pinkey sold at 145., three months prompt. SPlCES.—Pimento has realised full prices ; mid to good little stalky selling at 61d, a nd a small qu an tit y b eing held for 61d to 6. 1 .- t d per lb. Af rican pod pepper was taken in at 30s to 35s for ord and mid. Cassia lignea went at 134. to 135. 6d for good ord second and third piles. African ginger brought for damaged 20s to 235, and very low 13s 6d to 16. Gd per cwt. Jamaica realised 41s Gd to 60s for ord to mid, and 129. for one lot good. COTTON.—Priees are steady, .but business i s limited. Rint.—The market is inactive. A small quantity of good Demerara, 36 over, sold at 5s 3d to 5s 4d per gallon, being 2d under the highest price. TEA.—This article is dull, but not cheaper. SALTPETRE.—FuII prices are asked, and most of th e . quantity offered has been taken in. Rough was taken in at 37s for good 2 per cent. refraction ; Bengal low 29 per cent. at 345, and good 6 per cent. at 36. 6d per cwt. Pri vately, 6 per cent. was sold at 365. TALLOW.—The market is quieter. P.Y.C., 62s 9d on the spot. GREEN FRIIIT.—The market sustains its improved cha racter. Oranges have advanced 3s to 5s per box. Three icargoes St. Michael, sold by Keeling and Hunt st public sale, were taken freely by the trade. More inquiry for lemons, the stock of which is light for the season. A bet ter business doing in nuts. 94 i 56 5# 6 1, 154 131 xd 66 5 111 92 1i 2 11 ad 80 7„ 12 96 7 „ 804 4 80 94 68 7i 1S i 8 8 1 974 Hai I 1 12} 1 1 1 801 80 1 621 i 2 li d 3ii 4 i 63 :1 t 69i 70 12i 491 50 49i i 9/ xd 136 i dia ad 101 x d 10423 x d 100 2,670 8,510 .~" TILE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, MARCH 3. 1854. IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS-(YESTERDAY.) COUNTY COURT EXTENSION ACT EXPLANA- TION BILL. Lord BROUGHAM—My lords, in rising to ask your lordships to give a third reading to this bill, I feel still more occasion than my noble and learned friend (the Lord Chancellor) did the other evening to ask your indulgence, on introducing a subject so comparatively trifling in itself, and, in the interest which it is likely to excite so immeasureably less material, as that to which I am about to direct your lordships' attention—namely, a declaratory bill for the amendment of the law respect ing the jurisdiction of the county courts. Not, my lords, that I grudge—God forbid--in the slightest de gree, the absorbed attention of the community, as well as of Parliament, on the great events which are now, I much fear I must say, impending over the rest of Europe as well as this country. I have been long anxious, my lords, to disbelieve that it was possible that such a cala mity as war should disturb the peace of the world. I have long struggled against that belief, in spite of all the too manifest indications that appear of my being wrong. But, my lords, as men and women most readily believe what they wish, so they most reluctantly give their assent to what they most dread, most detest, and most abhor. My lords, I could not conceive it possible that they—l purposely use a very vague and indefinite expression—that they who have hitherto stood forward as the patrons of order, the friends of peaceful institutions in Europe, and the guardians of arrangements by which that peace seemed to be secured—that they should, as we now find there is but too much reason to believe, to the grief of mankind, to the astonishment still more than the grief, , and to the indignation still more than the astonishment of the world—that they, I say, should have became, all at once, the disturbers of the public peace and the abet tors of wide-spreading insurrection and confusion ; and if it is not wide-spreading, it is owing, first of all, to that happy alliance between the two great Western Powers which Providence, educing good from evil, has been pleased to bestow upon us ; and next to the wise and firm, and I trust it will continue wise and firm, conduct of the German Powers, which, even more than the rest of Europe, have an interest in staying that great Ca lamity--(hear, hear)—and which I hope and trust will show that they are acting according to their best inte rests, and in the discharge of their highest duties. (Cheers.) My lords, the delay that has taken place I deem most fortunate for the world, I deem it not only justifiable on the part of my noble friends opposite (the members of the Government), but praiseworthy in every sense of the word—for it is in that reluctance, which I share with them, as well as that disbelief of apparent impossibilities, that this delay has had its origin ; and it has produced, in my clear and decided opinion, none but the best and happiest results. (Cheers.) My lords, I ought to apologise for stepping aside from the compa ratively insignificant proposition which I am now about to make to you ; but I have not before had an oppor tunity of expressing my opinions and my feelings on this subject ' • and I have had occas i on t o k now t h at t h at si lence of mine, which has not been voluntary, has been elsewhere misconstrued. (Cheers.) The noble lord, adverting to the bill, the third reading of which he had risen to move, proceeded to say that the important measure relating to the county courts, to which their lordships gave their sanction some few years ago, had been found to be attended with misapprehension on the part of some as to the intentions of the Legislature in one respect. At all events an error had been committed in framing the measure ; and it was absolutely necessary that the error should be rectified. In 1833 a bill was first introduced into the other house of Parliament for the establishment of county courts, but subsequently re jected. A bill was also brought forward on the same subject in their lordship's house, and after being referred to the Common-law Commissioners, was in 1833 carried to almost its last stage. He and hie noble and learned friend (Lord Lyndhurst), though differing with respect to some of the provisions of that bill, agreed that the best course would be to read it a second time, which was done after a good deal of discussion and then to refer it to a co mm itt ee , b y w h om the whole provisions would be thoroughly examined ; then, the bill being re duced to a stat e i n w hi c h it m i g h t be fit to pass, that the discussion on its merits should be taken on the third reading. Notwithstanding, however, all their efforts to make that bill as perfect as possible, it did not pass into a law. Now, in that bill there was a very important clause, which provided that all ques tions, among others, touching tolls, franchises, bank ruptcy, and other cases not coming under the descrip tion of debt or contract, as well as questions of tort, should be excluded from the jurisdiction of the local court, unless by consent—being confined to the amount of so many pounds in cases of debt, and so many pounds in cases of tort. But then there was this important clause, called " the optional clause," that, if both parties chose to have their cases t r i e d, whatever might be the amount of the claim for debt or damages, and also if they chose to have one of the excluded actions tried— for instance, an ejectment, or a question relating to tolls, franchises, or bankruptcy—in all those cases, by consent, the jurisdiction of the local court should be to the extent to which the parties agreed, notwithstanding the limitation of jurisdiction by a previous clause, to which he had adverted. The County Courts Bill, to his great regret, left out a very considerable portion of the bill of 1833 ; and among other provisions " the optional clause" was unfortunately omitted. In settling the bill of 1850, for extending the jurisdiction of the county courts, it was deemed a good opportunity for introducing the " optional clause ;" and from the bill of 1833 the "optional clause" was copied and inserted in the bill of 1850 ; but in inscribing that clause the proper conse quential change was not made in "the appeal clause," and the consequence was, that whereas by the bill of 1833 an appeal was given in any case whatever, the bill of 1850, instead of saying the appeal would lie in any case in which a party was dissatisfied with the judgment of the county court, said " in any case where jurisdiction was given by this act"meaning theact of 1850." Now it had been held by a competent tribunal that, in certain cases) jurisdiction was not given by the act of Parlia ment, but by the consent of the parties. He (Lord Brougham) contended, on the contrary, that it was by the act alone that jurisdiction was given, though the ground on which that jurisdiction was given was the parties' consent. The consequence was, however, that the appeal was construed to be confined to cases of debt, contract, or tort, but did not apply to ejectments, tolls, franchises, bankruptcy, and the like ; and it was to provide a remedy for that defect that he had pre pared the bill the third reading of which he now moved. There could not be the slightest doubt that the mistake arose from inadvertency in copying the clause out of the bill of 1833 without making the corresponding conse quential alteration in the appeal clause. He begged their lordships' pardon for engaging their attention so long, but he could assure them that no small import. once was attached to the change he proposed by the bill, for the reason that the fact of there being no appeal in certain cases tended to restrict, rather than extend, the resort to the county court. He ought to add that that resort was at present already materially restricted by the great fees attached to the practice in the county courts, which were in many c tees much larger than those in the superior courts. Ile hoped the attention of the County Court Commissioners would be withdrawn to the neces sity of making a diminution in the expense of resorting to those most useful and admirable tribunals, and so remove what was at present the only obstacle to their complete success. (Hear, hear.) Lord CAMPBELL, after suggesting certain verbal amendments in the preamble, expressed his concurrence in the object of the bill. Lord BROUGHAM at once adopted the suggestions; and the bill, as amended, was read a third time and passed. ters like that of Sinope. He regretted much to see so large a detachment of British troops sent to so great a distance, when it was probable that their presence might be required much nearer home. The true place for Eng land to look to was the Baltic, nut the Black Sea. Who could say that there would not within the next three weeks be a demand for troops in the Baltic? Sweden might ask for assistance, for it was known that both Sweden and Denmark were preparing for war. And when wanted our troops would be in Turkey. It might possibly occur to that distinguished admiral—as great a man on shore as on board—Sir Charles Napier, that it would be extremely desirable, and add to the success of the naval operations in which he might be engaged, if England were to occupy some of the islands in the Bal tic now occupied by the Russians. But we should have no troops for the purpose. He (Lord Ellenborough) felt satisfied if England had 20,000 available for the Baltic, and that fact were known to be so, it would have more effect upon Russia than the detachment sent to the East. The house might depend upon this, that it was in the Bahia that the essential battle would be fought, and that a force in the Baltic would have a far greater influence on Russia than 20,000 troops posted in the neighbour hood of Constantinople. (Hear, hear.) The noble earl then asked what were the intentions of her Majesty's Government with respect to calling out the militia this year, and with respect to the corps either not formed or much below their complement, and concluded by moving for an account of the expense and force of the militia in continuation of the account ordered to be printed 15th August, 1853. The Duke of NEWCASTLE said that with respect to that portion of the noble earl's observations which had reference to the length of time during which the militia, were drilled, he had to state that although the Govern ment did not intend to enlarge that period to the extent advocated by the noble earl, it was intended to enlarge it from 21 to 28 days. Of course there could be no ob jection to the return asked by the noble earl. When, however, the noble earl complained of the number oftnen who were not yet enrolled as compared with the num ber possible to be enrolled-80,000—he (the Duke of Newcastle) would call his attention to the number re turned as enrolled on the Ist of Jan. last, which was 66,280, as compared with the number enrolled the pre ceding year, wbich was 51,560. When the noble earl stated the necessity of having recourse to more decisive means of obtaining the complement of men for the militia he (the Duke of Newcastle) begged to remark that he thought this was not a moment when Ministers ought to allow themselves to be driven to measures in any de gree of a penal character. (Cheers.) There was a noble and most patriotic spirit evinced throughout the whole country, both with respect to military and naval service ; it would be making a most ungrateful return if her Ma jesty's Government were to take meaures for compelling the people to do that which, without compulsion, they were ready and willing to do. When the numbers which he had already quoted were compared, and it was remembered that at the beginning of the year the spirit of the country was not so roused as at present, he must express his opinion that there was no reason whatever to complain of the number of men en rolled. The noble earl (Ellenborough) had referred to the nine regiment in West Yorkshire, and two in Lan cashire, the complements of which were not fully made up ; now, it was due to those districts to state that a vast number of men had enlisted from them. Indeed, when the extraordinary demand for labour which had existed for some time in these districts, and the unex ampled rate of wages which employers had been paying were considered, there was great cause for astonishment and congratulation in the number of men who had been obtained there. With regard to shat the noble earl had thrown out respecting the permanent embodiment of the militia, he (the Duke of Newcastle) was not prepared to say that Government might not find such a measure ex pedient, but he had no hesitation in saying that at pre sent Ministers did not think that the time had yet ar rived when it was necessary to put the whole country to the serious inconvenience which would be caused by the permanently embodying the militia force. When the time did arrive, he thought the country would not object to the inconvenience which might attend such a step. (Hear, hear.) In replying to another portion of the speech of the noble earl, he (the Duke of Newcastle) felt at a great disadvantage, and with regard to that portion he did not propose to follow him into the statement which he had made. (Hear, hear.) He was fully aware of the attention which the noble earl had given to the question of the position of this country with regard to Russia and Turkey, and he was therefore not surprised that his noble friend should thus on successive nights bring forward the subject. But he would submit to the noble earl and to the house the practical inconvenience, not to her Majesty's Government personally, but to the Government in reference to the conduct of negotia tions—which must arise from these discussions. It was, indeed, impossible to feel that the intimations of the noble earl, as to what the country might or might not of this we rnea at nation all n n e a lul o c th a e r te d p l t a o r ees a . i s e ir t h e e r s e e g n r s e e t of t ed t h t e ability e besent to the Baltic noble earl hadstatedao wasgain his impression for sion itstha tthefleet to purpose. He did not know from what source the noble earl ob tained his information. He (the Duke of Newcastle) believed, and his belief was founded on the reports of competent authorities upon the • matter, that the force was perfectly efficient, and adequate to the end in view. The noble earl objected to the quantity of troops sent to the East. He was quite sure that, had fewer men been sent out, the noble earl would have been among those who would have complained that the dignity of the country suffered from the inadequate force sent to Turkey. He (the Duke of Newcastle) begged to tell his noble friend he was under a mistake in supposing that, should it be found necessary to take any of the steps to which he had adverted, there were not sufficient troops for that purpose. He could assure the house that, should any portion of the course pointed out by the noble earl be considered by the Government desirable to be fol lowed out, there were, notwithstanding the forces sent to the Mediterranean, troops sufficient for that purpose, and that there remained in this countrymen who would gladly serve in any part of theglobe, eitheor north or south, where the interest and honour of the nation might require them. (Cheers.) The noble earl must forgive him (the Duke of Newcastle) if he declined to follow him in more detail than he had done, for he felt it his duty to preserve silence upon the matter. With regard to the noble earl's mo tion, he was willing to give him all the information asked for. Lord BEAUMONT said that the noble earl (Ellen borough) had fallen into error through the manner in which the returns were made up with regard to the regi ments to be raised in the West Riding, the complements of which were not made up. Three of these regiments were old ones, and there was no shortness of men with regard to them, men coming in at the rate of 50 a day. Three other regiments were new, and there were various formal matters to be settled before men could join them. This accounted for the shortness in their complement. The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH ventured to suggest to her Majesty's Ministers, that it was at least more straightforward and more honourable in a public man to state his objections in, Maine to a course of policy about to be adopted, and run the risk of all the censure which might be brought upon him should his predictions fail, than to wait until he saw the result of that policy, and then be silent if it should succeed, or visit the ministry with animadversions if it should fail. He had taken a different course from this last. He had stated distinctly to the house what his opinions were, and he thought his noble friend at the head of the Government might recollect that this was not the first time upon which he had so expressed his opinions. He would only venture to suggest now, that the true secret of success in war was to leave nothing to fortune that could be rescued from her domain by prudence and preparation. That was the principle upon which his great monitor invari ably acted—that was the great principle on which in all the operations which he (Lord Ellenborough) had been called upon to undertake he had acted—it was attention to that which had invariably led him to success when he had been successful, it was inattention to it that had been the cause of all the failures he bad experienced. The Earl of HARDWICKE thought that at a moment like this it was impossible and impolitic to expect that members of that house should not express their opinion upon the grave facts by which they were surrounded. He thought that none of their lordships would be worthy of the position in which they were placed if they hesi tated upon so important a subject. He gave the Go vernment every credit for the exertions they were making ; but as he would not deceive himself with re gard to the views he might hold, so he would not deceive others by refraining from expressing his views when necessary. With regard to the fleet intended for the Baltic, he thought it would require all the talent and energy of his gallant friend at its head to bring it to a state fit to cope with the fleet of Russia, the vessels of which had been acting togther for no less than 13 years, and were therefore in a high state of discipline and efficiency. Our fleet, on the contrary, was composed of ships new to each other ; manned not with efficient seamen, but with men from the coast guard and lands- men. The Earl of WINCHILSEA said it was totally im possible that in the maritime marine of this country there should not be sailors enough to man all her Majesty's ships. He was convinced that in the hour of danger, the spirit which had always characterised the British nation would again show itself. He deeply regretted that a quarrel between the Latin and the Greek Church should have been the original cause of war, which was likely to be attended with such awful consequences. He perfectly agreed with the noble earl who spoke the other evening (Earl Grey) that this country could not be ex pected t• become a party to the oppressions exercised by Turkey over her Christian population ; and he thought there would be an entire change of !public feeling if the people of England found that such was likely to be the result. A population of eleven million Christians must no longer be subjected to barbarities by three millions of the dominant race. For his own part he had long wished to see the establishment of a free and enlightened Christian empire. He feared that in a short time the whole of the East would be involved in a religious war, of which no man could predict the probable result. tive, and requires much revision by the Legislature ; but it is impossible to repeal the law at the present mo ment. In the other house of Parliament an hon. gen tleman has moved for the correspondence which has taken place between the board of guardians and the Poor-law Board on this subject. That motion has been agreed to, and the information, when it has been pro duced, will be laid on the table of your lordship's house. I think this information is quite indispensable before we can venture to proceed to legislate on the subject, and I think, also, that it will be deemed expedient to refer it to a committee of this or of the other House of Parlia ment—or, perhaps, of both. At present, I can say no more than that I fully admit that the state of the law requires revision and alteration, and that as soon as the materials are in our possession for that purpose, it will receive the attention of the Government. The Earl of DERBY felt that the question of the general law of removal and that of the removal of Irish paupers were inseparably blended, and that it was im possible to legislate on the one without considering the other. He would ask the noble earl at the head of the Government whether he intended to lay on the table the correspondence with regard to the removal of Irish paupers, and to propose that it should be referred to a committee before there was any legislation on the gene ral question of the removal of paupers. He thought the practical difficulties arising out of the abolition of the law of settlement in this country in connexion with the removal of Irish paupers was an essential element in any legislation on the subject ; and he agreed with the noble earl opposite (Wicklow) that to abolish the general power of removal as regarded this country, and at the same time to make an exception with regard to Irish paupers, would be an injustice and hardship that would produce well-founded dissatisfaction. He hoped that in altering the law the Government would be prepared to look upon the question in its bearing on the three kingdoms. Lord MONTEAGLE, while concurring with the noble earl who had just sat down in the tone of his re marks, thought inquiry with regard to Irish paupers should precede legislation. In England the present state of the law was erroneously considered a protection against the influx of Irish paupers. Paradoxical as it might sound, he had no hesitation in saying that it sti mulated that influx. Many Irish labourers, atter re mitting their earnings to their own country, availed themselves of the present state of the law to return there at the expense of English ratepayers. That law was at once an encouragement to the fraudulent and a hardship to the deserving. The Earl of DERBY had ventured to ask the noble earl (Aberdeen) whether it was the intention of the Go vernment to proceed with the bill which they had intro duced before instituting an inquiry. The Earl of ABERDEEN—It certainly is the inten tion of her Majesty's Government to proceed with the bill now before Parliament. A NOBLE LORD—Before inquiry? The Earl of ABERDEEN—Yes. THE NAVY LIST. The Earl of HARDWICKE wished to inquire of her Majesty's Government whether the commissioners who were to be appointed to inquire into the state of the army list were to extend their inquiry to the state of the navy list ? There were two lists of admirals, one called the " active list," the other the " reserved list." On the active list there was, perhaps, the largest number of in active officers ever known ; on the reserved list there were many very active officers who were perfectly ca pable of doing their duty, and he thought it desirable that the whole subject should be inquired into. He bad no doubt that the noble earl at the head of the Govern. ment had come down to the house prepared to answer his question either in the negative or the affirmative ; but if he meant to answer in the negative, he would rather he gave no answer at all. The Earl of ABERDEEN—I am afraid that not withstanding the recommendation of the noble earl, I must communicate the answer of the Government in the negative. I must say that her Majesty's Government, though they have appointed a commission to inquire into the rules of promotion observed in the military ser vice, have not thought it necessary to adopt the same course with respect to the navy, and for this reason, that this very subject has occupied the attention of various commissions and committees, and Boards of Admiralty, over and over again, very recently, and therefore there is not the slightest occasion for any fresh revision. I can only say that after the most full and mature inquiry, it has been considered that the system now in force is the best. The noble earl will recollect that her Majesty has power to set aside the rules of seniority, and to select any officer she pleases for the service, and with that ex ception, I repeat, that after consideration by several suc ceeding Boards of Admiralty and commissions appointed for the purpose, there is no reason to institute any fresh inquiry on the subject of the navy list like that proposed by the noble earl. Their lordships then adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS—(YESTERDAY.) EMIGRATION SHIPS. Mr. J. O'CONNELL moved for a select committee to inquire into the recent cases of extensive loss of life aboard emigrant ships, whether by sickness, wreck, or other causes, and generally into the sufficiency or other wise of the existing regulations for the health and protection of emigrants from the United Kingdom. The hon. gentleman gave a vivid description of the horrors which were gone through on board emigrant ships, and insisted that something ought to be done in the shape of regulations for emigration vessels to miti gate it not to remove the cause of them. If the house did appoint a committee, although it would follow so close on that of 1851, yet they would be doing no more than was being done in America, where inquiry and legislation had been going on continually in the last few years, and it would only be following the example of humanity which had been set by America. The hon. gentleman concluded by moving for a committee as above stated. Mr. F. PEEL said some of the remarks of the hon. member would lead one to suppose not only that there was some defect in the law relating to passengers, but also that there had been some remissness on the part of those who were charged with the administration of the law. So far as the administration of the law was con cerned, he entertained no unwillingness to an inquiry, as he believed the duties of the officers under the Pas sengers' Act had been discharged in a satisfactory manner. The hon. gentleman had anticipated the main objection he had to this motion, which was, that the law relating to this subject had been recently inquired into ; it was referred to a committee appointed in 1851, which went into the whole case, and presented a report containing very valuable suggestions. If that report had remained inoperative, it might not have been inex pedient to appoint another committee, with a view of recalling the attention of the house to the recommenda tions which were then made ; but it, should be borne in mind that in consequence of that investigation and based on their report, a measure was brought into the house the following year, which !passed into a law, and was the existing law on the subject ; and there had hardly been a fair opportunity yet of judging of the effects of that law, but as far as it had hitherto been tried it had been found very salutary. In conclusion, the hon. gen tleman said it was impossible by legislation to prevent vessels going on rocks, or to make captains in every case act prudently, and, considering that the Passengers Act had passed so recently, he did not see the necessity for an inquiry ; but if an inquiry should result in making any suggestions likely to prevent such disasters as had occurred in the course of the last two months, he should be exceedingly glad, and he suggested that that should be the form of the inquiry. Mr. HENLEY was glad that the hon. gentleman had agreed to the committee, but was sorry to hear that he wished to restrict the inquiry. Mr. CARDWELL said the only limitation which he or his hon. friend the Under-Secretary for the Colonies wished to put upon the inquiry was that it should not extend to matters which were thoroughly investigated and closed by the former committee. Beyond that the inquiry might, and he hoped would, be carried to the fullest extent, so that every cause of accident or casualty at sea might be ascertained and guarded against for the future. With regard to the loss of the Tayleur nothing could be more conclusive or more clear upon that point than the report of Captain Walker, and he might be al lowed to take that opportunity of stating that he had directed the local Marine Board of Liverpool to institute an inquiry into the conduct of Captain Noble, the com mander of that ill-fated vessel. Captain SCOBELL was glad that this subject had been brought before the house, as it was one of great and growing importance, and he hoped the committee would be invested with ample powers to go to the bottom of the whole question. He suggested that something should be done to ensure efficient crews for emigrant ships, as well as efficient masters and mates, and a party should be employed by the Government to see that the crew was complete in number and efficiency before the vessel was permitted to leave port. Mr. MEAGHER hoped the motion would be agreed to in the terms in which it had been proposed. Mr. F. PEEL consented to withdraw his objection to the motion, upon the understanding that the inquiry would be confined as far as possible to new points. Captain BENTINCK was of opinion that careless ness on board ship might be obviated to a large extent by adopting a system of penalties which should be stringently enforced. Mr. FAGAN remarked that they had been told that while the mortality on board American emigrant ships had been eight per cent., on board British ships it had only been one per cent. during the last year. Now, could not some arrangement be made with the United States by which their regulation for emigrant ships should be assimilated to our own ? At least two-thirds of the emigration to America and Canada was carried on in vessels belonging to the United States, and he thought it would not be unwise if the suggestions of Mr. Kin naird were adopted upon this point, namely, that a de posit of money should be required from every foreign emigrant ship which should not be returned until a report had been received by the Emigration Commis sioners that the passengers were being well treated. At present it was too much the practice of American vessels to disregard the regulations of the Emigration Commi!- sioners directly they got outside the port ; but, if this deposit system were adopted, there would be some check upon them. After a few words from Mr. J. O'CONNELL in reply, the motion was agreed to. A WAR MINISTER. Mr. HUME said the question which he had undertaken to bring before the house was to his mind one of great im portance ; it was one that was not novel, for he had re peatedly brought it before the house in an indirect form, and after the Government undertook to appoint a commis sion to investigate it he had hoped that much time would not elapse before they would attempt to apply some remedy to the evils of the existing system. (Hear, hear.) The question at this moment assumed an aspect of more than THE MILITIA. The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH said that in the last session of Parliament an account was presented to their lordships showing the expense of the militia in 1852.53, the number of men enrolled, and the number not pre sent when the militia were called out in 1853. He pro posed to move for a continuation of that return, and he thought there should be a supplemental column, show ing the complement of each regiment. It might be ne cessary to state the result of the return, as it now stood, up to the 14th August last year. Unless some material change had taken place in the number enrolled since that period his noble friend at the head of the Govern ment was wrong in stating that 80,000 men had been raised, for it appeared that 63,000 only had been enrolled and but 60,000 had been raised. The great deficiency occurred in the counties of York and Lancaster, and especially in West York. In each of those counties there appeared to be a deficiency of from three to four thousand men. And it was remarkrble that the district upon which it was proposed to confer additional politi cal power by the Reform Bill, was precisely that which had not found anything towards the national defences. He had taken a great interest in the success of this mea sure, and had done everything in his own county, in his humble way, to carry it into effect. One regiment in that county (Gloucester) had its full complement, and the other nearly its complement. If gentlemen who had some interest in their neighbourhood would speak to farmers and others and induce them to take the trouble to obtain volunteers, a full complement might easily be obtained in all the other counties. There was a greater facility for carrying out the provisions of the bill where there was a large police force, for the mem bers of that body made good recruiting officers, and were stimulated to exert themselves bytthe reward which they received of ss. for each man they obtained. Some effect was also to be attributed to the apprehension of 1 the ballot. He had no doubt that if all parties exerted themselves, 170,000 men would have been raised instead of 60,000. If the militia were permanently established, it would enable Government to obtain the services of officers of a better class, and more experienced, than those at present acting. If during the approaching war Government were permanently to establish the militia, he should think they were laying a foundation for public security—(beat) —and doing that which would go in some slight way to compensate for the war itself. This would enable the Government to turn their attention profitably to the necessity of sending a proper quantity of troops to the Baltic. He could not help observing that he thought the Government ought to have sent some troops to the Baltic before they despatched so large a body to the East. He admitted that if the avail able portion of our fleet were to be joined to the squa dron which had lately been formed by the Emperor of the French, the combined naval force in the Baltic would be amply sufficient to guard against any hostilities in that quarter. But without that French reinforcement he was not aware that th ere was su ffi c i ent nava l f orce ready 'or that service. However gratified he might be to see a French fleet acting in conjunction with our own, it was not satisfactory to think that Eng land must depend upon the assistance of France to produce a fleet superior to t h a t o f R ussia in the B alt i c ; that was, in fact, to defend our own shores—for without a fleet in the Baltic any of our ports were liable to dims. REMOVAL OF IRISH PAUPERS. The Earl of DONOUGHMORE said he had a ques. tion to put to her Majesty's Government on this subject; and he must profaee it with a brief statement. In the fourth year of his late Majesty, and in the 7th and Bth of her present Majesty, temporary acts were passed, authorising her Majesty to remove the destitute poor of Ireland, Scotland, and the Channel Islands who might happen to be in England to their respective countries when they became chargeable to the parish. They were passed to meet a pressing emergency, and it was because their injustice was acknowledged that they were made temporary. He begged, then, to ask her Majesty's Government whether they intended to propose the repeal of the act of Parliament which authorised the removal of Irish paupers found in England to their native coup• try? Ttie Earl of ABERDEEN—My lords, I am quite ready to admit that the state of the law connected with the removal of Irish paupers is very imperfect and defec- ordinary interest ; now that we were about to enter upon vast military movements it was of peculiar importance that the departments of the army should be put in the most perfect order. (Hear, hear.) A complicated system might be allowed to remain in a time of peace, but when we were on the brink of war it became imperative that an im mediate change should be made in the management of oar military affairs. (Hear.) He confessed he was one of those who had thought war should not take place, but it now appeared to be rapidly coming upon us, and it was in the hope of strengthening the hands of the administration in this emergency that he brought forward this motion. (Hear, hear.) He believed the present mode of managing the accounts of the army and ordnance departments had entailed a loss upon the country of no less than between 200,0001. and 303,000 i. a year; and that fact alone should be sufficient to induce the house to call for some change in the system. To make his motion intelligible, he should explain that some time ago, a commission was appointed to inquire "into the practicability and expediency of con solidating the different departments connected with the civil administration of the army ;" and the report of this commission, which was presented to Parliament in 1837, and which was signed by Lord Howick, Viscount Palmer merston Lord John R usse ll, an d ot h ers of equal eminence, contained various recommendations. Now, the resolu tion which he wished to move was based upon that report ; it was this : " That it is the opinion of this house, in accordance with the report of the said commission, con firmed lity evidence taken before the committee on the naval military, and ordnance expenditure in the years 1848-50, that measures should forthwith be taken to consolidate the different branches of the military service and expenditure, and to place the whole under the superintendence and con trol of one efficient and responsible department." (Hear.) In pressing such a motion at this moment, it could not be considered - , nor indeed had he any idea of throwing diffi culties in the way of the Government. On the contrary, he rather thought he was doing them a service. No admi, nistration for the last 30 years had met with so little trou ble at his hands as her Majesty's ministers this session, and for this simple reason that it was his wish too see the House of Commons avoiding everything thich was calcu lated to throw a difficulty in their way, or which could in terrupt in any way the course they had determined upon for maintaining the honour and interest of the country. At the same time such was the character of the present sys tem that were any hon. gentleman happened to be charged with the care of a large establishment of any description whatever, to conduct it neon the same principle, he would very soon bring himself to ruin. What he (Mr. Hume) wished to be done was that the same plan should be pur sued with the army as was the case with the navy ; namely, that there should be a minister who should have the entire control of everything connected with the whole depart ment. He did not care whether this person was called a " Minister of War " or a " Secretary at War," all he wished was that there should be some one person to whom the whole responsibility should be given. (Hear.) Of the eight millions we were going to expend this year, about four millions would be laid out under one authority, and the other four millions under other authorities; but wily should there not be, he asked again, the same united responsibility, as at present there did exist in the navy ? (Hear, hear.) Of one thing he was quite cer tain, namely, that it was contrary to all sound principles of finance, that there should be such a divided authority as was now the case. If they questioned the Secretary at War on the subject of the army he could only answer as to a certain portion of it; for the rest they must go to the Treasury or to the Ordnance. In short, it was ex tremely difficult to control the expenditure of the country with regard to the army, for they never had it brought before their notice at one view. The Secretary at War brought in the estimates for the regiment of the line; in about a month after they had the barrack estimates ; in another month the commissariat ; and thus, it was quite impossible for the house to take a comprehensive view of the whole department. (Hear.) The report of the com missioners had been drawn up with considerable ability, and he thought no man could read it without being con vinced of the absolute necessity there was for some change. The orders of the Government with regard to the navy were at once conveyed to the head of the Admiralty, and everything connected with the naval expenditure was car ried out by that department. But how stood matters with respect to the army? The commissioners stated that the orders of the Government, with respect to the land forces to be employed, were communicated (as they ought to be) to a Secretary of State, under whose hand or signature all the expenditure took place. But who did the house think was this secretary? The Secretary for the Colonies ! No doubt, vhen that arrangement was first made, the thing was practicable. We had then but few colonies ; but now, we had 42 or 43 dependencies, which were quite enough to occupy the whole attention of any Minister, be his talents what they might. (Hear.) Well, the Colonial office communicated these orders to the Commander-in- Chief and the Master-General of the Ordnance. When the forces belonging to these departments left the coun try on active service they formed only one body, and they ought to form only one body at home. The Commander-in-Chief and the Master-General might both be good men ; but still they wore two persons, and a single individual ought to have the management of one branch of the public service. Th e C o l on i a l S ecretary submitted to the Queen the amount of the forces to be employed, and afterwards made known to the commander-in-chief the strength of the establishments which had been decided upon. In time of war, as the Commissioners stated, the Colonial Secretary also corresponded with officers com manding at foreign stations, and conveyed to them the orders of the Government. Sometimes he had likewise to issue warrants as to the terms upon which soldiers were to be enlisted or pensions granted, and other important matters. All military commissions were technically issued under his authority, but it was done in the following man ner:—The commander-in-chief took the Queen's pleasure upon appointments and promotions that were to be made, he then forwarded a memorandum of those approved of to the War-office, and the Secretary at War made out two lists—one for the regiments serving in India, Ceylon, and other foreign stations, and the other for the remaining re giments wherever they might be in England, Scotland, or Ireland. The one list was transmitted to the Colonial, and the other to the Home-office • and the commission, having been prepared in the respec tive departments, were sent to her Majesty for signature. They were then countersigned by the Secretary of State, and were lastly sent again to the Secretary at War, to be forwarded to the newly-appointed or promoted officers. Now, why should there not be one person to submit the names of the officers to the Queen, and at once to see the commissions made out, instead of it being necessary, as it was at present, for seven or eight letters to pass about the business ? (Hear, hear.) The present sys tem must necessarily pause considerable delay, and cases might arise where that delay might be prejudicial to the public service. (Hear, hear.) So again with regard to the supply of arms. If arms were required for the troops, the Commander-in-Chief informed the Secretary at War ; the Secretary at War wrote to the Secretary of State request ing the Queen's authority for the supply of the arms ; the Secretary of State wrote to the Master-General and Board of Ordnance, communicating the Queen's pleasure, or tak ing upon himself to give the Queen's authority ; and his letter became the authority under which the arms were furnished. Thus there were five forms to be gone through before a single musket could be issued to the soldiers. (Hear, hear.) Now, why again should there not be a mi nister of war to take all the necessary steps himself? (Cheers.) But what were the duties of the Secretary at War? He prepared the army estimates for the regiments of the line ; he checked the details of military discipline, and he attended to the execution of military law. The military estimates were prepared ; however, according to the orders of the Secretary of State, the Secretary at War being a mere clerk—a " cranny." Crannies, it might be necessary to inform the house, were what they called na tive clerks i n I n di a — men who would copy an English letter with perfect accuracy without knowing a single word of the language, and the Secretary a t W ar had about as much to do with the estimates as the crannies of Bengal. (Laughter.) The expenditure of the money granted by Parliament for the army department took place under the warrants of the Secretary at War; and that was the rule he (Mr. Hume) wished to see extended to the whole of the payments on account of our land forces. The Secretary at War also decided upon all doubtful claims respecting pen sions to widows and wounded men. In conjunction with the Commander-iii-Chief and with the consent of the Treasury, he made alterations in the rates of pay and al lowances. He was also required to answer all questions in Parliament connected with the administration of the army, as far as they came within his department ; but surely if they wished to make him an efficient minister they ought to place the entire army under his control, and thus enable him to answer for the whole of it, instead of only a single department? (Hear, hear.) Another duty of the Secretary at War was the insertion of all promotions and appointments in the Gazette, and he was charged with the protection of the civil subjects of the realm from mis conduct on the part of the soldiers, as well as with all cor respondence with magistrates respecting all complaints against officers. He also brought before Parliament the Mutiny Bill, framed the articles of war, and issued orders for the removal of troops. These were his duties, as de scribed by the commissioners, but the artillery and engi neers were under another set of rules. The Master-Gene ral acted in his military capacity in precisely the same re lation to these corps as the Commander-in-Chief to the rest of the army. The civil duties in relation to them were placed, however, in the hands of the Board of Ordnance, the respective members of which took each one department. The clothing of the army, instead of being as it was in France, Austria, Belgium, or Russia, under one manage ment, presented another anomaly. The clothing for the artillery and engineers and the militia, and the great coats for the whole of the army, were provided by the Board of Ordnance, but the clothing for the regiments of the line was done by colonels in a manner quite separate and dis tinct. (Hear, hear.) If the members of the Board of Ordnance were engineers or artillery officers, there might possibly be some reason for keeping the departments dis tinct, but in point of fact the members of the board were neither one nor the other. All barrack buildings were placed under the contr o l o f th e O r d nance, b u t w hile he (Mr. game) admired the talents of that branch of the service be . was bound to say that they did not always adopt tht provements of modern times. He thought that if there s, was a war minister who would advertise for c_ a. a less expense. would be able to get better buildingsn, informed, t an ormed, by expense. (Hear.) He (Mr. Hume) the way, that artillery officersand hadg i b e e e r s could not be appointed to the command of divisi on ; that General Burgoyne, for instance, could not have been appointed to the command which had been ent ruste d to Lord Raglan. Perhaps r the u p Was that so ?If it had b een th e _e i d n erhFrance,, even Bonaparte could never right hon. gentleman (M . S idney h : veliada m Herbert) a wo u l d o ofgeneral officers to this point. Again ; the app ointment foreign commands was s ettled by the Commander-in -Chi e f and the Secre and the taayof State ; Secretary at War often • ' k ne w nothing of an appo intment in his official capacity until the officer applied to him for his paeans money. (Hear, hear.) He (Mr. Hume) thought that the Secretary at War might be more conversant with the merits of offi cers than the Colonial Secretary ; and he was afraid that the public had not always been served as well as it might have been, in consequence of the present mode of selecting officers for commands. (Hear.) An army was of little use without a good commissariat. In England and Ireland the troops were supplied by contract, and so were the guards; but the militia were supplied by the colonels as they best could. He understood that by a new arrangement the commissariat was to be supplied by the Ordnance in Ire land, by the Treasury in England, and by contract abroad. He hoped this was not true. It appeared by Sir Charles Trevelyan's evidence that the present plan was enormously expensive. The Treasury should never be an executive office ' • but it ou g ht t o con t ro l th e ex penditure o f ever y other department. (Hear.) The Colonial Secretary had at present the power of conferring the distinction of the Orde. of the Bath; but what did the Colonial Secretary know of the merits of officers? The Secretary at War, however, was concerned in all questions of promotion, sale of com missions, and retirement upon half-pay, and he would be much more fit to judge. (Hear, hear.) He (Mx. Hume) would now lay before the house an authori!y, to which he begged their particular attention—he meant that of the eommissioners. Their recommendations were as follows —" L That the greater part of the aelhOrity, with rote. "once to the army, which at present belongs to the wore taries of State, should for the future be vested in the Se cretary at War. 2. An alteration should be Ina de in the form of the appointment of the Secretary at War :—I. That he should in future be always a member of the Cabinet. 11. That he should be the Minister by whom the advice of the Cabinet, as to the amount of the military establishments, should be laid before the King. 111. That he should be the person to consider and act on all points with the Commander-in Chief on behalf of the Administration, and to be imme diately responsible to Parliament for all the measures of Government with reference to the army. IV. That he should assume all the merely formal duties relating to the subject now performed by the Secretaries of State, such as the preparing and countersigning of military commissions, and the issuing of orders for the delivery of arms to the troops. 3. The Secretary of State, to whom the civil administration of our numerous colonies, with all their complicated interests, is entrusted, cannot possibly give the attention to the subject (amount and distribution of the army) which it requires. 4. The Secretary at War, by whom the army estimates are now moved in the House of Commons, seems to us to be the person to whom the important duty of watching over the whole military administration of the country should be properly com mitted. 5. To give him (the Secretary at War) a direct control over those large branches of busi s : relating to the military service of the country hich are now managed by the Board of Ordnance and by the commissariat department of the Treasury. 6. With respect to the Ordnance, we think this might best be accomplished by dividing the civil from the military duties of that department. I. The latter (the military du ties) should be left, as at present, iu charge of the Master- General, who should exercise the same authority be now has in all matters of discipline, promotion, &c., subject to the general orders of the Government, to be conveyed to him, as we have already explained, by the Secretary at War, instead of by the Secretary of State. 11. He should also retain under his immediate orders the inspector -gene ral of fortifications, and be charged with the duty of su perintending the execution of all military works. 7. The civil business, on the other hand, should be brought under the more direct control of the Secretary at War, by making the board officers, by whom it is more immediately con ducted, subordinate to him instead of the Master-General and Board of Ordnance; so that their separate divisions of the business would become branches of the War-office, and the whole expenditure connected therewith would be pro vided for in the general army estimates." In support of these recommend a ti ons, the hon. member read some ex tracts from the evidence of Earl Grey before the committee of 1850, which, he observed, ought to carry conviction to every mind. He had hoped that these changes would have been made long ago, not forced upon us by an impending war. This was not a state of things which ought to con tinue a day longer. The Government ought to take steps for carrying out these recommendations without delay. A fortnight ago he had asked if there was any such intention, and being answered in the negative, he had no alterna tive but to bring on this motion. It might be said it was ill-timed, but he contended that no further delay ought • to be permitted. The hon. member concluded by moving the resolution of which he had given notice. Mr. A. PELLATT seconded the motion. Mr. S. HERBERT said he certainly agreed much more with some of the opinions which the hon. gentleman had advanced in his speech than with the motion with which he had concluded. He differed from some very material portions of the report which he asked the house to adopt ; and he (Mr. Herbert) concurred in many of his objections to it. The house must first consider at what time and un der - what circumstances this report of 1837 had been made. There had then been great impediments to the carrying on of the public business, through differencies and controver sies which had arisen between different branches of the war department. It was true that in 1812 there had been very serious differences between the then Commander-in- Chief, and the Secretary at War ; and at a later period, shortly antecedent to the sitting of the committee, there had been grave differences of opinion and very warm con troversy between them. There was great indisposition on the part of the military authorities to adopt any changes or improvements, or to listen to suggestions from the War. office ; and Lord Howick, fearing that his plans would not meet with the concurrence of the military authorities, felt that some change was necessary in the organisation of the departments, to enable him to carry out those plans which he was rightly convinced were necessary to the being of the army. On more occasions than one he had had to speak in high terms of Lord Howick's efforts for the improvement of the condition of the army ; but if those controversies existed then, and rendered the appoint ment of a commission necessary, an entirely different state of things now prevailed. In the first place, the energy of Lord Howick succeeded, in spite of all difficulties and opposition, in carrying his plans into effect. At present, therefore, the ground of want of harmony between the different officers no longer existed. In the last few years very great changes had been originated in the War office, and ultimately they had been invariably successful. During the administration of the present Lord Panmure two of the greatest changes in the army were proposed by him, and successfully carried out—the abolition of service for life, and the substitution of a limited period of ten years, and the introdnctionof examination for commissions in the army. Those two were very vital changes. The first altered the whole condition of service in the army-. The military authorities thought service for life almost a necessary condition for the efficiency of the army ; but, in spite of that Mr. Fox Maule was successful in carrying oeft the change. In point of fact, at the present day, tnere was harmony between the military and civil authorities • and the former entertained such enlightened and extended views that the indisposition to introduce any change had entirely disappeared. Therefore, on the ground of contro versy between the authorities, there no longer existed any necessity for a change. (Hear.) But it was said the army ought to have one head, as the navy had. But the navy was not under one head, in the sense which the hon. gen ' tleman proposed. In the nature of things, the navy must be supplied with artillery and stores by another department. All officers agreed that matters relating to artillery and projectiles were more likely to be understood by those who had devoted their lives to that scientific profession than by the officers of the navy themselves ; and therefore the com mission of 1837 did not recommend that the supply of the navy with ammunition and warlike stores should be taken from the Ordnance. Neither with regard to the disposition of the forces was the navy under one head. The First Lord took the orders of the Secretary of State as to where the forces should be employed. When he was Secretary to the Admiralty, applications constantly came to them from the Foreign-office ; and they used to think it most inconve nient, inasmuch as the political necessities of Ithe country often diverted ships from places where, for the efficiency of the service, the Admiralty wished to concentrate them. A. few years ago, when the insurrection broke out in the lonian Islands, the Secretary of State issued orders to the First Lord of the Admiralty to send ships from other ports of the Mediterranean to assist in putting down that dis turbance. More recently, under the authority of the Home Secretary, ships were sent :to Ireland to supply the re- Taired assistance there. Therefore it was not correct that if the Secretary at War were constituted into a Secretary of State, he would be in the same position as the First Lord of the Admiralty, who, in fact, took his orders from the Secretaries of State. Then came the question—was it wise that he should receive orders from the Secretary of State It was proposed that an officer should be constituted who should perform all the duties now performed by the Secre tary, at War, by the Master-General of the Ordnance (as far as the civil duties of the ordnance went), by the trea sury, and by the commissariat ; and, in addition to this vast consolidation of offices, that he should likewise per form the duties of two Secretaries of State for the Home and Colonial Departments, and by his authority order and be responsible for the distribution of all the forces of the country. This would not increase promptitude, or make the machine less cumbrous. How was the Secretary at War to judge whether an additional force was requisite in a certain district in England ? There might be strikes in Lancashire, bread riots in Wales, or political disturbances in Ireland ; but the Secretary at War could only obtain information of these things from the Home Secretary. For that reason he would not be responsiblee He had no knowledge on the subject, and could only gain it by going to the Home Secretary. The same with regard to our colonial empire ; he could, in fact, be only a go-be tween. Tee Colonial Secretary knew what colony might require the presence of troops; the Secretary at War could not know it. In point of fact, therefore, it would be the Home Secretary and the Colonial Secretary who would dic tate to the Commander-in-Chief, as now; but, in place of doing it themselves, the orders must be filtered through this new officer, who would be like a third wheel placed between two cog-wheels that were moving each other with accuracy. The result would be to create great difficulties where now there was much simplicity, and a far more cir cuitous and cumbrous mode of arriving at the same end. He did not pretend to say that the present system was a perfect system. (Hear.) Theoretically, no doubt, there was much fault to be found with it; practically, it worked Well. But it was his conviction that by a well considered change it might be made to work better. In support of his view he would refer to the evidence of Lord Panmure before the committee of 1850, as to the direction and distribution of the forces. He was asked what member of the Government he thought most competent to form an opinion with respect to the wants of the public service, and if any one was more so than the Home Secretary. He said certainly not—the Home Secretary was the most capable, and he ought to be the person who should advise with reference to all matte rs connected with the preseryation of the peace, for he wag constantly in communication with all parts of the country, nor could any one be so immediately responsible in case o f civil war or disturbance. Whoever might be th e party to d e cide on what forc e was to be maintained in th e country, he of course must be guided by the ad v i ce o f the Hom e Secretary, .as to what force should be maintained in the home districts. If these duties were transferred to the Secretary at War, he would have to go to the Home Sec retary for the information necessary to guide his judgmen t andwould be a mer e s hifti ng of responsibility f rom on e it Minister to another. Such was the opinion of Lord Pan mune The responsibility of the new Minister would sim ply amount to this, that he was told by the Home Secre tary that so many troops were required in the country. After all he would be but a g o -between between the Secre taries of State andthe Commander-in-Chief. His own views were that they could not add very largely to the existing consolidation in the Ordnance department. It had had the duties of three or four departments cast upon it since 1815. He confessed that if he had the power, without re ference to any existing circumstances, or the difficulties in which we were placed at this moment, when it was neces sary not to change our troops, but to use them, he should say that there ought to be a clear distinction between the Ordnance and the Commander-in-Chief. The Master- General of the Ordnance was a far more important officer than the Commander-in-Chief. It was true the latter had the appointment of officers, their promotion and selec tion ; but that was almost a matter of course. He could make no alteration in the army which involved ex pense without the consent of the Secretary at War. He promoted whom he pleased to a vacancy; but that vacancy could only be created by consent of the Secretary at War. Similar duties were performed by the Master-General of the Ordnance, but without the same check. The produc tion of arms, the construction and maintenance of fortifi tions, both came under the decision of the Master-General of the Ordnance. These duties were very complicated in their nature, and required the advice of men eminently scientific. If batteries were erected in places where they were useless, an unnecessary expense was incurred, and men were kept there when they might be more usefully employed in other parts. One error carried with it very grave and serious consequences. He was therefore justified in saying that, though not so high in rank, the office of Master-General was a more difficult and important one than that of Commander-in-Chief So far as ho had seen of th e working of the War - office i n connection with the Horse Guards, he attributed very much of the financial economy in the management of the arm y to this fact — that one oeli. cer incurred the expense , and . a different officer checked it. (Hear, hear.) He believed that the reason why the army had been administered so much more economic a lly tu n the am wee, that there Whi an OZtralleous officer B.E. adopt 50 13t 31 25 25 18 20 at. 6i 25 60 sa Bt. so St. 16 16 30 20 St. St. at. 33 1 20 20 sc. t. 25 20 20 50 20 20 la St. 25 25 Bt. Bt. ac. 25 20 St. 15 14 12i 25 12i 12i 121 St: St. 15 8 8 10 10 25 10 1.0.0 LOO 100 LOO 100 17 7 100 34 100 16 all f . gi 2s 100 100 100 100 all 100 all 15 124 2a all lei 100 17 all all 14 all 51a. 100 20 134 100 • • .v: 14 i