The Sun. — London, England, 1864-03-04 00:00:00

I 'ERIAL PARLIA] ROUSE OF LORDS—Last Evening. The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the wooLsack al five o'clock. The Earl of CARNARVON presented a petition from the Worcester Diocesan College for Training School master, against the revised code of education. DENMARK. The Earl of CARNARVON said he had been requested by his noble friend the Earl of Ellenborough, in conse quence of his detention in the country, to postpone his question relative to the giving material aid to Denmark, which stood on the paper in his name for to morrow evening, until Monday next. CHIEF RENTS (IRELAND) BILL. Lord DONOUGHMORE moved the second reading of this bill. After a few words from Lord MONTEIGLE, the motion was agreed to. Their lordships then adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS—Last Evening. The SPEAKER took the chair at 4 o'clock. INDIA. Colonel SYKES asked the Secretary of State for India whether, considering the rapidly increasing difficulties of adjusting the large annual balance of trade in favour of India by means of silver, it was his intention to facilitate commercial operations by the introduction into 'lndia of pure allayed gold tokens of the value of five or ten rupees ? Mr. VANSITTART asked the Secretary of State for India whether, in lieu of the gold tokens of the value of five or ten rupees, as suggested by the member for Aberdeen, it would not be desirable to re-introduce that portable and Popular gold piece among the natives known as the gold mohnr, which is worth 325., and which resembles the Prus sian double fredricksdor ? Sir C. WOOD said he was not prepared to introduce such Coins, which would be an impediment to the introduction of the sovereign, which he should like to see. Col. SYKES said he should call attention to the subject after Easter, and would move a resolution. THE SAXON. Lord It. MONTAGU asked the Attorney-General, whether it be true that the Saxon was captured on the ground that her cargo was supposed to be the property of the Confederate States, and whether it be according to the law of nations to take possession of enemies' goods under a neutral flag, or to make prize of the neutral vessel contain ing these goods; or whether, on the other hand, the Saxon was captured on the ground that her cargo was Federal property. which had been seized by a Confederate man-of war, and had been transhipped on board the neutral vessel ; and, if so, whether such an act be in accordance with any principle of international law. The SOLICITOR-GENERAL said representations had been made to the United States, and no answer had bean received. It was undesirable, therefore, to have a hypothe tical discussion on the subject. COLONEL CRAWLEY. Mr. C. FORTESCUE asked the tinier Secretary of State for War when the proceedings of the court-martial on Col. Crawley would be laid upon the table of the house ? The Marquis of HARTINGTON said the papers would be laid on the table to-night, and the distribution would take place on Saturday morning. LETTERS ON SUNDAYS. Mr. HOPWOOD asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if there would be any objection to allow letters posted at the General Post Office on Sunday to be despatched on that day, on account of the great privilege it would afford to the public and the small amount of labour it would entail Mr. PEEL said that a great objection existed as to the course which the hen. gentleman recommended. There was, in all probability, 20,000 letters delivered at the General Post-office on a Sunday, and to effect a despatch of that large amount would necessitate the appointment of a great number of men. SHEATH OR DAGGER KNIVES. Mr. HORSFALL asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Majesty's Government were prepared to take any steps to prevent the wearing of sheath or dagger-knives, from the use of which so many murders have been committed ? Sir G. GREY said that he had received communications from magistrates at Liverpool, from which it appeared that sailors, particularly foreign sailors, were in the habit of wearing knives and daggers of a dangerous nature, and he would be quite ready to adopt any practical means to put down this practice. IRON PLATED GUNBOATS. Mr. FERRAND asked the Secretary of the Admiralty if contracts, without competition, for two iron-plated gun boats had been given, or were intended to be given, to two shipbuilding firms. Lord C. PAGET said that the Government were pre pared to receive contracts for the construction of those boats from two eminent firms if they found the tenders were rea sonable, NEW ZEALAND, Mr, A. MILLS asked the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, when the New Zealand correspondence moved for last session would be laid upon the table ; and, whether any intelligence had recently been received as to the proposed transfer of the seat of Government from Auckland to some other locality in New Zealand ? Mr. C. FORTESCUE said that the papers alluded to would be laid on the table to-morrow, and, in reference to other pr,pers which had been asked for, they would be laid on tb 3 table shortly. PROPOSED REDUCTION IN THE ARMY, On the motion for going into committee of supply, Lord PALMERSTON appealed strongly to the hon. gentleman opposite (Mr. Baillie) to postpone his motion on /1-,e reduction of the army until after the right hon. gentle -man the Chancellor of the Exchequer had obtained his first resolution for the necessary complement of men for the army. The discussion on this subject might then take place with greater advantage, and the hon. member would have ample opportunity of using such arguments as he might consider suitable to influence the house. Mr. BAILLIE said he could not comply with the wishes of the noble lord, and felt justified in bringing the subject before the house on the present occasion. (Hear, Bear, from the Opposition benches.) He objected to the proposed reduction in the army on different groutris. In the first place, he contended that the efficiency of the army was not such as to warrant its reduction, and the relations of the country to foreign nations was not such as to render any such reduction desirable. It was also, in his opinion, most cruel to our soldiers to compel them to spend the greater portion of their lives in tropical climates, to the detriment of their health, and merely for the purpose of reducing the national expenditure. As the greater portion of the army were stationed in such climates, and instead of having their service abroad diminished, it would be increased if the proposed reduction were effected. The hon. member having described the effects produced on soldiers by a residence in certain latitudes, denied that the House of Commons generally were in favour of a reduction in the army, and he designated the same as an attempt to acquire popularity at the expense of the brave defenders of the country. He con cluded by urging on the house to reject any attempt to decrease the army at the present time and under existing circumstances. YEOMANRY CAVALRY. Col. EDWARDS moved that the discontinuance in the present year of the assembling of the Yeomanry Cavalry for the accustomed period of six days' training on permanent duty, would bo detrimental to the efficiency of the force, and contrary to the recommendation of the committee appointed by Lord Herbert in the year 1561, and is inexpedient. Sir M. W. RIDLEY seconded the motion. The Marquis of HARTINGTON expressed a regret that thl appeal of the noble lord (Palmerston) had not been acceded to, and he could not but regret that the dis cussion had not been postponed until the house had gone into committee on the army estimates. He contended that exceptional circumstances had rendered an increase in the army nee,, ---° "rY, but under the present state of things a reduction was not only practicable but inevitable, without in the slightest degree impairing its efficiency or endangering the safety and i n t erests of the country. He denied that in proposing a reduction in the military torte Government was acting against the recommendations of the commission of inspection. He paid a high tribut e of praise to the yeomanry and volunteer corps. The reduction of tile votes in regard to the former was dictated by A economy, proper sense of General PEEL deprecated the policy of the Government as being yeomanry merely to save £46 wise and poundooo a o - folish i n disbanding the year. Lord PALMERSTON defended the pol the vernment, and said th a t i t would not entail any inefue Go ieucy in the military serv i ce of the country in regard to the re duction for the present year of the vote for training the yeomanry. (Hear, hear, and derisive cheers.) Sir W. MILES censured the policy of the Government. (Cries of "Divide.") The house then divided AFor going into committee of supply 158 gainst it ............................ 1.57 Majority ............... The announcement w as received with. loud cheers. l POLICE SPIES. Mr. ROEBUCK, in drawing attention to the report of the inspectors of constabulary, animadverted in justly in dignant terms upon the establishment in London of societies —in other words, "private inquiry offices" —which were extensively in communication with the police throughout the country; with the object of supplying inquisitive per sons with information, and under the pretence of defending credit and preventing crime, were eng,-.ged. in dogging peoroe's steps from day to night and night to day; in short, earr Y in g °tkt a widely-ratLified spy system. He wished to know tion upon whetthe her the H ome Se:retary had taken any resolu stibject. Sir G. GitE l had n o h esitation in emphatically declar. in; that the practice referred to was most objectionable, and utterly foreign top he Plwpos e for which the police force was established. Uon retebri giving the report of Lieutenant- General Cartwright, the ins at once com mun i cated pector of the eastern dist r i c t, h e with the chairmen of quarter sessio ns , magistrates, watch committees, and various municipal authorities, enclosing them an extract from the report, and requesting that the practice should be immediately discon tinued, and this they had promised should be done. THE DEVONPORT ELECTION. Mr. FERRAND once more called attention to the inter ference by Sir Baldwin Walker, whilst Comptroller of the Navy, and Admiral Robinson, when commander of the Devonport steam reserve, in the election fur the borough in the year 1859. The hon. gentleman declared that being a candidate for the representation of Devonport at that time, he had been defeated solely throngh the scandalous and dis graceful conduct of Sir Baldwin Walker, who had issued a placard against him, and had used all his influence in the dockyard to prevent his return. He also complained that Admiral Robinson had appeared in the uniform of his rank at the Town Hall on the occasion, and taken an active part in support of Sir A. Buller, the Whig candidate, by waving his handkerchief and leading off the cheers. The hon. member further commented in severe terms upon the treat ment which had been experienced by the . late Mr. Augustus Stafford, when Secretary to the Admi ralty under Lord SomersetDethy' s andfirst Sir Baldwindmeati lv on ed , kaner w i th havingdhargedthedDonne that Duke of which Mr. Stafford had been censured for doing. In the one case, however, Sir Benjamin Hall, who had brought the charges against that gentleman, had gone up to the House of Lords, Sir Baldwin Walker had received a dis tinguished command on a foreign station, whilst poor Augustus Stafford had gone down to the grave a broken• hearted man. Sir J. D. HAY said he had received the personal assur ance of Admiral Robinson, both orally and in writing, that there was not one word of truth in the statement that he was present in full uniform at the election or had taken a leading part in the proceedings. With regard to the Duke of Somerset, whatever might have been his conduct at Tot nes and elsewhere, he believed that the noble duke had, at all events, not been actuated ley political motives in his administration of the navy. Lord C. PAGET defended the character of Sir Baldwin Walker from the imputations cast upon it by Mr. Ferrand, and stated, as the best proof that the gallant admiral was not influenced by political motives, that under his comp trollership dockyard promotions went on in the usual way, regardless of the manner in which the workmen who were electors had given their votes. in loud and indignant tones the noble lord then denounced Mr. Ferrand's unfounded and slanderous attacks attacks upon Sir Baldwin Walker, whose word, he exclaimed, he would rather take than the oath of the hon. member. Loud cries of " Take down the words," here assailed the noble lord, and a scene of great agitation ensued, in the midst of which Mr. FERRAND moved that the words be taken down, Lord C. PAGET apologetically observed, that if he had uttered anything that was unparliamentary, it was only in defence of one of the most gallant officers in the public service. Sir J. PAKINGTON hoped the noble lord would retract the expression he had used. Lord C. PAGET was quite ready to do so ; but he would adopt the strongest language that the usuage of the house allowed, in order to express his abhorrence of such a gra tuitous attack upon an honourable and a gallant man when absent on a distant service. With regard to Admiral Ro binson, it appeared that he had attended the election at Devonport merely as a spectator, and the whole statement of the hon. member was incorrect. Sir J. PAKINGTON observed that it was only duo to Sir B. Walker to say that over and over again he had given him the most distinct assurances, as a gentleman and a man of honour, that he was in no way influenced by poli tical motives in anything he had done as Comptroller of the Navy. As to Admiral Robinson, the question was if he had appeared on the scene of a contested election at Devonport in his uniform as captain of the steam reserve at that port; and the noble lord said that he went there as a spectator only. He knew the high character of Admiral Robinson, and was ready to do full justice to it; but he must say he thought the gallant officer would have acted with sounder discretion had he abstained from presenting himself in public on such an occasion. The discussion was continued by Sir A, Buller and Lord J. Manners, and brought to a close by Mr. Bernal Osborne in a display of "fireworks," whichexcited roars of laughter. Tho motion of Mr. FEREAND was then withdrawn. Sir H. VERNE Y urged the expediency of carrying into effect the recommendations contained in the report of the committee on the proper means for the instruction and em ployment of soldiers and their children in trades, and of the Under Secretary of State in a letter to the quartermaster general of May, 1862, relating to the same subject. The house having gone into committee of supply, THE ARMY ES I'IMA.TES. The Marquis of HARTINGTON, in introducing the army estimates, said that in a few days he should have to lay on the table a supplemental army estimate for the year 1863-4. The amount of this would be about £400,000. But £198,000 of that sum was not an addi tional charge—merely a matter of account with the Indian Government. The remainder of the supplemental vote was due almost entirely to the war in New Zea land. The estimates which he was now introlucing to the committee amounted to £14,844,888, against an estimate for 1863.4 of £15,060,237 ; or a reduction of £215,349. Compared with the estimate for 1862-3, which amounted to £15,672,730, there was a decrease of £827,849. In 1861-2 the war ,expenditure reached its highest level, being £15,883,160. Since then there had been a reduction of £1,038,112 on the nominal expenditure. The comparison was still more favourable if they deducted, as they ought to do, the sums which had to be repaid into the exchequer, and which now appeared in the army accounts, although they did not in 1861-2. Allowing for these sums, the net estimated expenditure for the present year was only £13,520,000, showing a reduction of 12,362,714 as compared with 1861-2. From some obs-rvations made by the hon. member for Inverness (Mr, Baillie) in the early part of the debate, it seemed that the Government might this year be thought to have gone too fat in the way of reduction of ex penditure. The estimates were, however, based on the ex pectation that the country would remain at peace. If hon. gentlemen opposite entertained a contrary expectation, they should say so at once, and condemn the policy of the Go vernment, which was a peace policy, and not the estimates, which were based on that policy. Although the estimates had been materially reduced of late years, the present ex penses of the army were still much greater than they were before the Crimean war. In fact, the increase was some thing like 42 millions. The additional expense had no doubt been caused by the improvements which had been intro duced into our military organisation. He did not believe that the country had grudged the cost; but, on the other hand, he did not think that it was expected that our mili tary expenditure should range permanently at the high amount which it had reached during the last few years. It was time now that the country should reap some benefit for the large expenditure which it had been incurring for so years ; therefore, he thought he might claim the support of the committee for the reductions he now proposed. Although the comparison had been made in several shapes, it might be not uninteresting to the committee to hear in what man ner the excess of this year's estimates over those of 1853-4 had been expended. The sum to be accounted for was £1,784,000. The sum first to be deducted from that was repayment to the Indian Government, £070,000, which made no difference on either side of the accouut. That re duced the aura to £3,514,000. In comparison with 1853-4 we had nearly doubled our expenditure upon the militia force, while our expenditure upon the volunteer force was entirely new. These sums together amounted to £650,000. That reduced the sum he had to account for to £3,164,000. In accounting for that sum he first took £1,000,000 as in creased expenditure over 1853. in the article of warlike stores. A comparison of the estimates would show that that was as nearly as possible the state of the case. The expenditure was in consequence of the improved arms which had been introduced in every branch of the service. Since that time the Enfield rifle had been placed in the hands of the whole army, and the expense of keeping the army supplied with that arm was much higher than it had been with the old musket. The introduction of arms of precision had also led to an immensely increased expenditure of ammunition for practice by regulars, militia, and volunteers, amounting in all to 400,000 men. Since that time also the artillery had been armed with the Armstrong gun. That also involved an immensely increased expenditure of practice ammunition of a much more expensive kind. Added to that was the fact that the numerical strength of the army had been largely increased, so that the expense for the increase in warlike stores was not to be wondered at. The next item which he had to deduct was one peculiar to this year, namely, the sum of £500,000 which New Zealand had cost more than in 1853.4. That left the sum he had toaccount for at£1,554,000. The remainder was to be accounted for partly by the addi tion already mentioned to the numerical strength of the army of 25,000 to 30,000 men. Exclusieeof Indian depots, 17,000 men and 4,000 more horses were borne on the estab lishment of the army than in 1853-4. The pay of those men and the forage horses would amou n t t o £ 600,000, leaving a thisyear ot £964,000 as compared with Enin m excess for e the ess 1853-4. 'Without wearying the committee with t oo many details, Le might mention the hems on which th a t sum h a d g e for the employ men t to be expe n ded. First, there were improved rates of good conduct ay an badges; next a char of native troops in China, the expenses of depot battalions, £75,000; exp er i men t a l s ervices, £76 000 ;additional quality and number o f ar ti c l es of clothing supplied. £124,000; Perhaps he might hero men tion that the expenditure represen t e d a rea l an d ve r y awe commissariat, £124 , 000 mor e.. he cost of stantial benefit t o t h e soldiers, b ecause i n 1853.4 t his rations was defrayed by a stoppage from his pay made to cover the cost o f the rations. Now the stoppage was uni form all over the world, and fixed at did. They had also established a commissariat corps, which performed the duties heretofore left to c ontractors, by which meat of im proved quality was supplied to the troops at a cheaper rate. There was also an item of £150,000 increase in rations, fuel and light. There was an increase for the lodgings of offi cers, and allowances to married soldiers, of £70,000. The next item of increase was in the medical department of the army, £150,000, and an increase in the educational and re ligious vote of £125,000. He was sorry to say also that in the military prison discipline vote of £25,000. There was also an increase in the new item for schools of gunnery musketry instruction amounting to £70,000. These items together accounted fur the increase in this year's estimates over those of 1853.4. Hon. members would see that every item had gone in the direction of improved efficiency of the troops by better armaments, instruction, and drill, or in improvement in the condition of the soldier.lto erwoaffsaeba to increasing abso lutely necessary that such inducements sh b the soldier on account of the rapidly improve menttry . Increasedthe allowance o o w n a o h f toh ino e f labourer nature ra h eh r o do u if g m h ipn o r u cor t ve o t a l c i ts e e rda c t o pi u oa Ti n y s were of course exactly require The comments anany v o r o y f t l h o h e g h on. answer member f ro f h o The lnverness fir s did t not objec tion of the hon. gentleman to reduction was on the ground of the insufficiency of our establishment of troops at home to meet the requirements of the service for India and the colonies. If hon. gentlemen had looked at the estimates of this and the preceding year, and had read the explanations accompanying them, they would see that the infantry had not been reduced at all. On the contrary, they had been increased by 1,000 men. The hen, gentleman said that the proportion which it was desirable to keep at home Was one third of the whole force, so that a regiment might enjoy five years at home after ten years of foreign service. Now the number of battalions which we have at home this ?ter is 41, in India 55, and in the colonies 45. That i 3 to say we have 34 actually at home at this moment, but we have four coming home from the lonian Islands and three battalions coming home from India making seven, which will make up the number to 41; so that there would he 41 battalions at home and 103 in the colonies. It was true that there would not be 60 battalions at home, but the committee must recol lect that four battalions were exceptionally employed in New Zealand, and that the force at present in Canada was much greater than was usually maintained. there. The argument of the hon, member had gone to prove that the force of in fantry ought very considerably to be augmented. Though the committee might be inclined to agree to a large increase, her Majesty's Government did not think it would be justi fiable to propose any such increase, The principle on which they had prepared the diminution of the army was not by diminishing the number of the battalions as units, but by diminishing the strength of each unit, in imitation of foreign powers, who, having the power of conscription, maintained the cadre' of their regiments while reducing their strength, Tnat was thought desirable to imitate, be cause, though we could not compel men to enter the service, it had always been found in time of war that by increasing the bounty any number of men could be obtained, In this way the strength of service battalions, with the exception of those serving in China and New Zealand, had been re duced to the lowest point at which the efficiency of the bat talion could be maintained. They had now only 680 men in the service companies of a battalion, so that no further ' reduction could be made in the numbers of infantry ; but when they came to look at the numbers of the other branches of the service, they found the garrison artillery had in creased from 4,335 in 1843 and 9,307 in 1853, to 17,629 last year. By the reductions which it was now proposed to make that number would be reduced to 14,606 for the pre sent year. There seemed to be no sound reason why the garrison artillery should be kept up to so large an extent. Unlike the field batteries, they had always been composed of the same number of men in time of peace as in time of war, and even now it was only proposed to reduce each batter) by 15 men, so that they would be left at a much higher pro portion in time of peace to their strength in time of war than the field batteries were. With regard to our cavalry, the increase of late years had not been less rapid than that of the garrison artillery. In 1843 our force at home was 7,9-19; in 1853, 8,690; and in 1863, 12,143. This year, however, it was proposed to reduce the number to 11,331. The increase in the number of cavalry had been caused by the raising of two additional regiments, and the addition of a squadron to the establishment of each regiment. The addition of a squadron was called for on account of its having been found, during the Crimean war, that the field squadron organisation was not adapted to the exigencies of war. The efficiency of the cavalry would not be at all impaired by the reduction which it was now proposed to make. Tho hon. member for Inverness had stated that the influence of England had decreased of late years ; bat if such were the case, it certainly was not owing to any decrease in the available force at our disposal, for it had, in fact, been increased by nearly 12,000 men. We also had the militia and the volunteer force, which m ould set free a large number of the regular troops, in the event of their being required for service on the Continent. It should be borne in mind that the proposed reduction would take place in the course of a few months by the mere cessation of recruiting, and it would not be necessary to disband a single man, With regard to the manner in which the resolution was presented to the house, he might state that when an altera tion was being made in the shape of the estimates, Sir G ‘2. Lewis, the late Secretary for War, came to the conclu sion that it would be better to ask the house for a sum of money, instead of voting a certain number of men. If, however, hon. members desired vote No, 1 to be framed for the future in the old way, there would be no objection to comply with their wishes. As to the native troops in China, he wished to mention that the reason why they were not included in the resolution of last year was that they were not placed under the provisions of the English Mutiny Act, whereas all troops voted by the house necessarily came within the scope of that Act. The cause of the increase in the number of infantry was the New Zealand war. Having now explained the total sum of the estimates, he would make a few remarks upon some particular votes. In the first place, the war in New Zealand had caused an increase in the price of provisions and stores, and it ha i also been necessary to hire a large number of transports for the troops. The vote for clothing had been slightly decreased, and the vote for barrack establishments likewise showed a diminution, which was due to a more economical administration of the barrack stores. As to vote No. 4, he might state that new experiments which he hoped would produce good results, were about to be made in the matter of cauteens, which it was proposed to place under the control of the committee of officers, and the points, after de fraying the expenses of the building, would be devoted to the purchase of books, periodicals, &c. The new arrange ment would, in the first instance, be tried at some only of the stations in the United Kingdom, but if it succeeded it would of course be gradually extended to them all. A small vote would be taken for a gymnasium, which it was anticipated would tend to improve the health of the troops and augment their power of enduring fatigue. Improvements, too, had been introduced in the cooking de partment, and one of the results had been a large saving in the item of fuel. The consequence of the improvements of the last few years in the medical administration of the army had been that the health of the troops at home was annually improving. The improvements which had taken place in barracks and hospitals had reduced the mortality from 171 per 1,000 to 8 per 1,000; and although this had caused an increased expenditure, still it was money well laid out. He would now turn to the votes relating to the manufacturing department and stores, and would take both together. The Government had been able to make a considerable reduc tion upon these two votes. In the vote for the manufac turing department there was an increase of £16,666, but on the vote for stores there was a decrease of £265,850, conse quent upon the large supply of small arms in reserve. The exertions which had been made for some years to have a sufficient quantity of small arms in reserve resulted in there being £lOO,OOO Enfield rifles in store. The increased vote for the manufacturing department would have been consi derably greater, but that a sum of £30,000 had been trans. ferred from the department to the experimental vote. He had to state that the warlike stores, irrespective of the small arms, was everything that could be desired. He now came to the article of artillery guns, and he feared he could not give the committee the same consolatory assurance he had given with respect to the small arms, The committee had already been informed by the select committee upon ord nance how the question stood at that time; and they had now got the report of the result of the experiments upon the Armstrong guns. As to the lighter guns, he was happy to say that they were universally approved of by the troops in New Zealand. There were some symptoms of failure in 1862, but in no instance had it involved any loss of life. Further experience had shown that it was an arm which could be trusted in actual service, and that those guns possessed great accuracy and power, Besides the guns for field batteries, there was a considerable number in the depot at Woolwich, which could be supplied at any moment they might be required ; and there was also a large number in the possession of the navy. There was also a large number of 20 and 40 pounders in the possession of the navy. It was impossible to speak too highly of these guns. The 20- pounders were much superior to the old 32-pounders, and well adapted for field 'works and fortifications, such as those at Portsmouth, and they were an excellent gun for an army in the field. It was quite true that the 110-pounders were not so much approved of as the guns to which he had re ferred. It had been thought that above all things this country should have a powerful rifle gun, and this 110- pounder gun had been pro uced without mature considera tion, owing to the exigencies which then existed. There had been many objections to this gun, but they were gradually being overcome--and,amongst other improvements the vast pieces were now made of steel. Although the 110-pounders were at present of no material use against armour-plated ships, yet in many positions they would prove to be an ex tremely valuable gun—and almost all the naval witnesses, although they condemed the use of them as a broadside gun, still they said they would like to havo a supply in each ship, and therefore while those guns would not do all the Government wished, still they were a very powerful arm. The Government had not yet adopted any guns which would be capable of doing effective service against iron-plated ships. The experiments with the 110• pounders should be a caution to them against going too fast in that direction, especially as there was no immediate pressure upon them for adopting any particular gun, and there was reason to believe that no other nation possessed such a gun. Although there was an overwhelming necessity for such a gun, still if affairs should become more threatening, and if this country should bo called into action,it would be conso latory to the committee to know that this country possessed a good system of rifling, and also a system of construction of strong and heavy guns, which if not the best which had yet been discovered, would be sufficient to enable them to make guns possessing all the conditions which might be required of them, end strong enough to pierce any target that had yet been made. The opinions of scientific and military men were divided between the followers of Sir W. Armstrong and Mr. Whitworth, and there was a consider able difference of opinion and great uncertainty upon this subject, and it was considered desirable that, before proceed thhies t e e u s e to s t t l io h n y , t a h c e o m rn e w r i i t ts te o e f c t h h o es s e en t w fo o r ri t v h a e l i s artilleristsn io g n purpose.f: th r t e h erls reason ihueopulcionladwd h explainedthere htoadthbe o h o o h u s s e u , oohn great r f e o a r tm delayer e c c iao- carrying out the experiments. These experiments would have to be carefully conlocted, and they would extend over a considerable period c) time ; but he hoped that in the course of two months the ordnance select committee would bring the investigations upon the Armstrong and Whit worth guns to a close. When they had once ascertained the best gun for the service, the Government would proceed with the utmost rapidity with the manufacture, and orders had ahead' been given to have a considerable number of cast-eteol blocks prepared. The experiments which had been made upon the 600- pounder, or 13-inch gun, were extremely saisfartow.y, and it would be of suffi cient power to blow an; ship out of the water. In future warfare he believed that the shot would exercise as much importance upon the actual result as the quality of the gun itself, and experiments had shown that cast-iron shots were shattered to pieces without injuring the plat ing. But great improvements in shot had taken place during the last twelve months ; and the ordnance select committee had been assoeiated with the Iron-plate Com pany for the purpose cf carrying out experiments upon the different qualities of steel, and every kind of projectile. With the view of having cast-steel shot of the best material. If the Government did Lot possess a perfect system of guns, it was not the fault of the Government, or of their advisers, who had been prosecuting the experiments ; but the fault, if fault at all, was owing to the continual changes in the manufacture of iron plates and of guns, the whole having been in a state of progress. He had now gone over all the items in the estimate to which it was necessary to call attention; and he could assure the committee that, although it was a largo estimate, the greatest care and pains had been taken to frame it not only with a due regard to the effective state of the army, but also with regard to real economy. If any hon. gentleman who objected to the amount could point out how any saving consis ent with efficiency could be made, the Government would be glad to make it. There has been a great increase in the expenditure ; but he could assure the committee that his noble friend at the head of the War Department was most anxious to make the service efficient, and also carry out real economy; and with this view in vestigations were taking place. He had endeavoured to lay before the committee the exact state of the army, and he would now place in the hands of the chairman the resolution of which he had given notice. (Hear, hear.) General PEEL expressed himself generally in favour of a reduction of expenditure, but regretted that it was pro• posed to reduce the Artillery force by 1,300 men; that be ing the peculiar branch of the service which the late Lord Herbert, with the approval of the house, had laboured so successfully to increase and render efficient. He hoped that after the narrow escape the Government had experienced on the question of the Yeomanry Cavalry that evening, they would now propose a vote to meet the expenses of the usual six days' training, as well as of the permanent staff, A debate ensued, in the course of which the more im portant items in the estimates were subjected to close scru tiny and examination by Mr. Bentinck, Mr. Williams, Col. Sykes, Col. North, Mr. Childers, and Col. Dunne. Ulti mately the motion fixing the number of men for the service of the year was agreed to, and the house resumed. Sir John Lawrence's Salary Bill was read a third time I and passed. The Bills of Exchange and Promissory Notes (Ireland Bill was read a second time. The other business on the paper was also disposed 3f and the house adjourned. THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, MARCH 4, 1864. and uneven, and by this means it received injuries which cauSed its death. The prisoner appeared to have always preVionsly behaired to the child with the utmost kindness, and she earnestly entreated the persons about her to do something to relieve it, and she expressed the gre Wst grief at what had happened. When she was examinee before the , magistrate she said she was sorry for what has takes place, and that she pushed the child down in a moment of passion, bat she had not the slightest intention to injure it. The Lord Chief Baron, in summing up, said that although the case was one very proper to be in quired into, it appeared to him to be an illustration of there being a defect in the criminal code of this country with reference to offences of this class, be cause whether the act was only separated by a very fine line indeed from the crime of wilful murder, or on the other hand, was very little more than an accident, the offence was still classified as man slaughter. The jury, however, were the judges of the facts; and if they should believe that the pri soner had no intention to injure the child, but that for the reason she had stated she suddenly pushed it down, and that the fatal result was to a certain extent to be attributed to accident, they would in that case be justified in acquitting the prisoner. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty. MIDLAND CIRCUIT.—WARWICK, March 3. (Before Mr. Justice Byles.) WIFE MURDER AT BIRMINGHAM. George Hall, 22 years of age, by trade a stamper and piercer of jewellery, was indicted for the wil ful murder of Sarah Ann Hall, his wife, the crime having been committed at Birmingham on the 16th of February last. Mr. Adams appeared for the prosecution ; with him was Mr. Buzzard. Mr. Sergeant O'Brien defended the prisoner, with whom was Mr. Filz• james Stephens. The facts of the case were somewhat singular, and fully illustrated the truth of the saying that "an ill marriage is a spring of ill fortune." The prisoner had known and courted the murdered woman for several years, appearing to be extremely fond of her, and certainly desiring to marry her a long time ago ; but it does not appear as if she was equally partial to him, for she favoured the advances of a man named Martin Toy at the time Hall was paying his addresses to her, and for a period of two years she put off the prisoner's offer of marriage, though she continued to flirt with him and Toy. At length she consented to marry Hall, he promising to take her to a furnished house, and they were actualiy married on Christmas-day; a circle of friends visited, 81e., but all did not go "merry as a marriage bell," and a most unexpected conclusion was put to the wedding-day by the newly-married wife refusing to stay with her husband that night. She went home and slept with her parents, while he remained at the house of his sister. Next day she returned, but at the end of nine days she left him again, stating that she never would go to him until he could get a home of his own. She kept her word and the prisoner was left in single blessedness, tormented with doubts, and mercilessly " chaffed" by his shopmates as to his runaway wife. A week or two after he was informed she was at the Prince of Wales theatre with his former rival, Toy, and when she came out he demanded her wedding ring, and " he would have her earrings or her life.' She took out a summons against him for threaten ing her, but the magistrates dismissed it, and ad vised them to live peaceably together as man and wife. During dinner time on the day of the mur der the prisoner called at the manufactory where deceased and her mother worked, and sent a mes senger up to say that a man wanted to speak to her. On going to where the prisoner was he told her he was off to Liverpool next morning, and asked her to meet him at seven o'clock that evening to receive back the wedding-ring, earrings, &c. She had a glass of ale with him while this conversation took place, after which she returned to her work. About five or six o'clock some one like the prisoner pur chased two pistols and ammunition, and when she came out of the factory at seven they were seen talking together in a friendly manner. He accome panied her home, chatted awhile, and asked de ceased to put on her bonnet and shawl to take a walk, stating he was going to get what she and her mother supposed to be the earrings. They lett about ten o'clock, and in about an hour afterwards the report of a pistol was heard, and her body was picked up by a policeman in the street. She had received the discharge of a pistol in her cheek, and he bullet badly shattered the jaw, and lodged be tween the cervical vertebra and the spinal cord. She was only able to say her husband had shot her, dying after great agony and convulsions. An hour or so after the firing of the pistol the prisoner went into a publichouse and asked some neighbours to drink with him, as it might be the last time they would have an opportunity of doing so. Upon being asked what was the matter, he replied, " I have done it. I have done for my wife. I have shot her. I had courted her for seven years. I loved her, we had sung together in the choir; I married her on Christmas-day; she complained of being poorly; she went home to sleep with her mother, and in stead of that she slept with another man that night, and the night after. My family have tarried their backs upon me; my shopmates use me cruelly ; even the apprentices upbraid me about my wife going with other men ; my master uses me cruelly, what could I do? I have done it, and lam prepared to meet my God for it." A policeman was sent for, and to him the prisoner also confessed his crime, having already given up the two pistols, one of which was loaded, and the other had been recently discharged. As if the prisoner could not sufficiently condemn himself out of his own mouth, he said, when he had up the pistols, " That is the one I did it with." The jury returned a verdict of guilty of wilful murder, but recommended the prisoner to mercy on account of the provocation he had received. The Judge sentenced him to death, but gave no hope of the recommendation being followed out— and he advised the prisoner to prepare for death. The prisoner addressed the Judge in a rhapso dical speech before the sentence was passed. CHILD MURDER AT LEAMINGTON. Ann Heatwell, aged 20, was indicted for the wilful murder of her child at Leamington, on the 29th December last. The Hon. E. C. Leigh appeared for the prosecu tion, and with him Mr. W. S. Dugdale The pri soner was undefended. The prisoner, it appeared, had been hired at a "mop," or statute fair, to act as domestic servant in the house of a licensed victualler in Leamington. On the morning of Tuesday, the 29th, she went upstairs to the landlady, and told her she had got " the spasms." Mrs. Wighton, the landlady, told her to get some brandy and water and go to bed. The prisoner did so, and the washerwoman was sent for to do her work. On the washerwoman going to the prisoner's bedroom an hour or two afterwards, she was horrified on discovering that Heat well had murdered a female child of which she had just been delivered. From the m id s t o f a poo l of blood on the floor Mrs. Francis, the washerwoman, picked up a knife, the blade of which showed the bloody work on which it had been employed. The knife was one of a number the prisoner had been cleaning. She subsequently said she had cut the throat of the child, which was illegitimate. She was no doubt enctente when engaged at the hiring fair, being subsequently visited at the Althorpe Arms, where the child was born and destroyed, by the man who is supposed to be its father. The medical evidence was to the effect that the child had breathed, but that this fact did not neces sarily and positively indicate that it had been " born alive" within the meaning of the law. The Judge said a child was considered to be born alive when it had been perfectly expelled from the mother. That was the distinction the law drew between the fixtus in utero and the human being. The jury brought the prisoner in guilty of murder with a recommendation to mercy. The Judge then passed sentence of death on the prisoner, remarking that he was glad the jury had the courage to do their duty. WESTERN CIRCUIT.—WiNcr[EsTEn, March 3. THE CHARGE OF MURDER AT HYDE. At the Winchester assizes this day, before Baron Bramwell, Robert Hallett pleaded not guilty to a charge of wilfully murdering Mary Ann Philps, woman with whom he cohabited. Mr. Cole prosecuted, and Mr. Carter defended the prisoner. The case against the accused was, that on the night of the murder he said the woman had been quarrelling, and he had charged her with robbing him, having previously used threats of violence to wards her. The next morning the son of the pri soner on coming down stairs was horrified at finding the woman and his father lying on the floor with their throats cut, she being dead. Medical aid was procurred for Hallet, and he recovered. The defence was that Philps, who was a woman of very violent and drunken habits, had attempted first to cut Hal lett's throat, and had then cut her own. Evidence at great length was gone into. His Lordship then summed up, and The jury, after two hours' deliberation, returned a verdict of not guilty. Persons who have been in the habit of paying weekly as borrowers of Sewing Machines will do well to apply at once and become members of Messrs. Watts and Co.'s Sewing Machine Clubs. By so doing they will not only save the money they now foolishly throw away, but at the same time secure to themselves the possession of one of the best and most celebrated sewing machines in the world. Every in formation given on application ; or by letter addressed, with a stamped envelope, to Messrs. Watts and Co., 12, Beaufort buildings, Strand, London, W.C., where memb rs are en rolled daily between 10 and 4; Saturdays, 10 and. ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE, HOME CIRCUIT. —.HERTFORD, March 3. The business of these assizes was proceeded with yesterday morning, the Lord Chief Baron presiding in the Crown Court and Lord Chief Justice Erie at nisi prius. There were only five causes entered on the civil side, two of which were undefended, and the others were of the most uninteresting description. (Before the Lord Chief Baron.) James Robinson, 40, a respectable-looking man, surrendered to take his trial upon a charge of feloni ously receiving a bushel of a mixture of oats and peas, the property of Philip Arnold, well knowing the same to have been stolen. Mr. Abel prosecuted, and the prisoner was de fended by Mr. Codd. This case gave rise to rather an extraordinary discussion between the jury and the learned judge. The prisoner, it seemed, for a good many years carried on the business of a dealer in seeds and articles of that description at Flamstead, and bore a very good character, and the case against him rested almost, if not entirely, upon the evidence of a man named Saunders, who was in the prosecutor's ser vice, and who admitted with the greatest effrontery that he had stolen his master's corn, and stated that he had sold a bushel of it to the prisoner, who, he said, gave him Bd. for it. The prisoner did not appear to have denied that he Lad purchased the corn of the witness, but said tnat he told him that he found it, and he all along disclaimed all know ledge of its having come improperly into his posses.. sion. The prosecutor also appeared to have stated that he did not believe the prisoner was guilty of the offence, and offered to become bail for him; and it may fairly be stated that the evidence against the prisoner consisted chiefly of the statement made by the admitted thief. - The Lord Chief Bar3n, before the learned counsel for the prisoner commenced his address to the jury, expressed his opinion that it would not be safe for them to convict the prisoner upon the evidence that had been adduced in support of the charge, and he observed that if there had been no evidence et all except that of the thief it would have been his duty to have stopped the case. As there were, however, one or two other circumstances that might be said to corroborate the testimony of the man Saunders, he was not justified in withdrawing the case from their consideration, but it really appeared to him, as he had before stated, that it would not be safe for them to convict the prisoner upon the facts before them The Jury, after a short deliberation, said they had ag►eed upon their verdict, and they found the prisoner guilty. The Lord Chief Baron said that he had anticipated from the observations he had made to them that they would have acquitted the prisoner, but before they returned an adverse verdict, it was necessary that they should hear the prisoner's counsel. He was sorry that he had interfered, but he felt him self justified in doing so upon the facts before him, but the counsel for the prisoner certainly ought to be allowed to address them. Mr. Codd accordingly made a speech to the jury upon the evidence, and he urged upon them the improbability that a man who was admitted on all hands to have borne the highest character for re spectability for a great many years, should have been guilty of an offence of this description, and that the charge rested entirely upon the evidence of a man who had unblushin g l y admitted h i mself to be the thief, and whose obj ect no doubt i n f i x i ng this charge upon the prisoner was to escape punish• ment altogether, or that he m i ght be dealt with more leniently. He then rem arked upoa the good character of the prisoner, and t h e fact that the pro secutor himself did not believe him to be guilty of the offence, and had offered to become bail for him. The Lord Chief Baron then briefly summed up, repeating the opinion he had previously expressed, that the evidence was insufficient to establish the charge against the prisoner. The Jury, after a short deliberation, again re turned a verdict of guilty. The Lord Chief Baron said that he could not receive this verdict, because, upon lookingat the indictment, ho found that the charge was one of receiving felo niously a mixture of oats and peas, whereas the only evidence in the cass, which was that of the thief, was that he stole clear corn, and this was what he sold the prisoner. The jury said they were of opinion that the evi dence supported the charge, and their verdict was that the prisoner was guilty. The Lord Chief Baron (to the jury)—l tell you, gentlemen, that you cannot legally convict the prisoner upon this indictment, and that you are bound to return a verdict of not guilty. The jury said they were ready to leave the case in his lordship's hands. The Lord Chi e f B aron said it was they who must return the verdi ct. All he had to do was to direct them upon any po i nt of law, and he now told them they were bou n d to return a verdict of not guilty. One of the jury said he did not think so. They then again deliberates for a short time, when the foreman said that they could not deliver any other verdict than the one they had pronounced, and they ceuld come to no other conclusion than to leave the matter in his lordship's hands if this verdict was not received. The Lord Chi e f Baron then again explained to the jury ho w t h e matter stood, remarking upon the danger that would be created if persons were to be convicted of an offenc e solely upon the evidence of a witness who admitted himself to be the thief, and whoa) motives for fixing the crime of receiving the property u p on another might easily be understood. He concl u d e d b y stating that he should always up• hold the right s and privileges of a jury, which was an institutio n f or which he entertained the highest reverence and re s p ect, b ut he s h ou ld at t h e same time firmly uphold those of the position in which he was placed. The jury again deliberated, and after a short time they gave a verdict of not guilty. Elizabeth Walking, 24, was charged with the manslaughter of fox illegitimate child. Mr. Bushby prosecuted. The prisoner was unde fended. The prisoner was a domestic servant, and the child in question was an illegitimate one, about 18 mouths old, At the time of its death the prisoner was 'iv inm with her m o th er i n the ne i gh b ourhood of Hert ford, and it appeared that some of the neighbours heard an outcry, and upon going into the room where the prisoner was, they found the child insen sible, and the prisoner said that it had been guilty of some dirty act, and that she had either pushed or thrown it upon the ground, which was very hard SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS, TIMES.—The inevitable truths of finance are at length beginning to dawn upon the American mind. For three years past the acute and intelligent people of the States have been deluding themselves into a belief that by some fortunate privilege they "ould escape the operation of inexorable laws; that they ld p s end without paying, and borrow without feeling the debt. In these fond i mpres . n ut s,,zed by the official declara tion, titan t Llev have acc e pt e d sions they w ere eon tions of their own states accordingly the first effects of ati italatea currency as evidence of abundant wealth, Withtittt so ImA as a misgiving that any day of reckoning wee at hand. Mr. Chase found money enough on conve nient terms for the exigencies of the war, and it was an article of the popular creed that when the war was over the public debt could be easily liquidated by the illimitable resources of a young, growing, and gigantic nation. These views, however, are now dissolving, and in their place some ugly prospects are gradually assuming shape and import. The other day, as we informed our readers, proposals were actually made in the It ouse of Representatives for doubling, at a single stroke, the taxes now paid by the population of the Federal States, and we have now a letter written by Mr. Thurlow Weed—a name of weight in the Northern States—for the instruction of his countrymen, in which the magnitude of the accumulating difficulty is unreservedly acknowledged. Of the remedy which Mr. Weed'suggests we shall presently speak,but we must, at any rate, allow him the merit of looking the affairs of the nation boldly in the face. Mr. Weed com putes that by the time the war is finished and the Union restored a debt of £600,000,000 will remain to be supported by the people of the States. What may be the case at so very indefinite a period it is rather hard to conjecture, but we know that Mr. Chase him self owned to an actual debt of £220,000,000 as long ago as Midsummer last, and the intelligence re cently brought reveals no improvement in the prospects of the Federals. However, we may very safely presume that the Americans will find them selves with a debt of tremendous magnitude to be endured or discharged ; and the question is whe ther this obligation is to be left to chance, or lightened as far as practicable by timely provision. At present the national liabilities are rolling up at a prodigious rate. The debt itself increases by about £150,000,000 a year, and besides this enormous ad dition of principal, there are heavy demands accru ing on the score of interest. Mr. Chase has admitted that the cost on this head will amount in a few months to a yearly charge of £17,000,000, and this calculation makes the very best of the case. It is beyond doubt, however, that from £15,000,000 to £20,000,000 will soon be added to the outgoings of the Federal Govern ment for interest on borrowed money alone, and if a system like this is to go on, what can we expect to be the end of it ? The House of Repre sentatives appeared to think that it must not go on, but that the country, instead of raising an ordinary revenue of £45,000,000 to meet an expenditure of £190,000,000, should raise twice that sum. This was to diminish the necessity of borrowing, and re tard in some degree the rapid accumulation of debt. Mr. Weed omits that particular consideration, and addresses himself to the methods of liquidating the debt, whatever it may ultimately be. His scheme we may, perhaps, briefly characterise, in terms now current, as a proposal for " divorcing the labourer from the soil," or, at least, for pro moting that species of separation in the case of labourers to be hereafter attracted from the Old World to the New. He proposes that the vast public lands of the United States should, instead of being alienated on the present terms as bounties on immigration, be preserved as the base of public credit and the fountain of public revenue. Under the approaching circumstances of the country these possessions will be too valuable to the State to be squandered in the shape of cheap farms. They must be kept in hand, and applied as they improve in productiveness and worth to the imperious neces sities of a Government overwhelmed with debt. This proposition deserves notice, not only for its recognition of the tremendous problem to be one day solved, but for its unhesitating sacrifice of that very law which has been reasonably repre sented as the great attraction of the United States in the eyes of labouring classes at home. The " Homestead Law," says Mr. Thurlow Weed, should be absolutely repealed ; sa that the loss of an extraordinary and unique advantage would be to America one of the first and ear,iest consequences of its civil war. It is not impossible that the emi grant of five years hence may find himself under an arbitrary Government; it is ceitain that he will find heavy taxes, and if, besides these unexpected cur tailments of republican privileges, he loses also the prospect of becoming at once the proprietor of land on terms within everybody's reach he will have lost most of the present inducements to prefer the New World to the Old. But the American press has not been sloW to discern that Mr. Weed's project would probably effect little good. The calculations are that the utmost amount of revenue derivable from the public lands thus treated would not suffice to pay more than one-thirtieth part of the aggregate interest due on the estimated debt; so that while immigration might be discouraged, and one source of American prosperity impaired, the counterpoise of gain would be insignificant in proportion. We can imagine that this reckoning may take too little account of the enhanced value which these lands may acquire—a result which must occur sooner or later in America as in every other coun try. Still, as this consequence itself depends upon the peopling of the country, and that process would be retarded by the adoption of the policy in ques tion, it would seem a wiser course to let the more liberal land system continue, and reap national riches, not from hoarded territory, but from the fruits of that territory in the hands of industrious owners. The men of the Old World have been the making of the New, and this, at any rate, is not a conjuncture when America can dispense with the importation. The only sound conclusion on this great question of finance is one which we at length find advocated in the Federal press. The war should be prosecuted to a termination, whatever that end may be, and the people in the meantime must con sent to be taxed. It is dawning upon the Americans at last that while they have been astounding Europe, as they believed, by the immensity of their " resources" and the unexampled magnitude of their war, they have simply plunged into that abyss of Old World embarrassment from which it was their proudest boast to be free. They now discern the fact that since the year 1861 they have unheed ingly incurred a national debt which will probably equal in its charges the national debt of England. It they say that they are capable of sustaining this debt, they say no more than the truth. No doubt the thirty millions of America can pay taxes as well as tl,e thirty millions of England, and without greater suffering. But then they must convince themselves of the fact that England and America stand for the future on just the same tooting. The mistake they have hitherto made is in supposing that America could do as England has done, and yet remain as America was. They must adopt: our system of Budgets as well as our syst em o f putt ic Stacks, and we can tell them that at present the; have made but very little way hi the realisation oi • the truth. Their scheme for raising £70,000,000 on foreign and domestic luxuries will never answer. Luxuries will never bear so excessive a burden, or yield so exorbitant a contribution. The burden must be more universally distributed, and less reliance must be placed on indirect taxation, and especially on protective tariffs. A revenue of £90,000,000 is not to be raised without an income-tax, and an income-tax levied for the first time on a people said to be the richest in the world ought to produce considerably more than one-fifteenth part of the whole income re quired. In short, there is no Royal road to ease and comfort in the matter of taxation. The imposts necessary for producing a large revenue cannot be shuffled on to the shoulders of the rich, or juggled into the duties on foreign goods—least of all into those on foreign " luxuries." All classes and all sources must bear their fair share in just proportion. Of course, the Americans can accept these condi tions if they please. If they mean, indeed, to pay their way according to their new lights, they must needs do so, nor i s it f or us to say that they will r g oe b e u e t e. pr A id e e t h b e y b the ur . suffer adoption a o n f y th th e i p n we (I d a n p endure e den and yet be prosperous, so may easily ; but to do so they must unlearn the ideas they have hitherto entertained, and teach them selves, as we have done, that debt can only be paid by taxes, and taxes only furnished by the patient submission of all classes alike to the hard, though equitable exactions of necesity. HERALD.—Mr. Ferrand's list of charges against of lon g the Whig Admiralty ocials is a one, but we take leave to s a y it h as not been disproved. And, notwithstanding th e outrageous insolence of Lord Clarence's Pag e t' s rep l y last night, w e think public opinion, judging by t h e li ght of similar proceedings on more recent occasions than that referred to by Mr. Ferrand, will decide in favour of the pursuer. When Mr. Ferrand complained last year in the House of Commons of the tyranny of the Whig Admiralty, which prevented " a free exercise of the franchise by the dockyard employees, Sir C. Wood made the following announcement When I was ge First Lord the patronsof the dockyards was given ov er t o t h e superintendents and since then the Board of Admiralty h 9 • have had nothing to do with promotion in the employment of the yards." But to confute this dogmatism of Sir C. Wood Mr. Fer rand referred to other and higher authorities. The late comptroller of the navy, Sir Baldwin Walker, stated before the Dockyard Commission of 1860 that " The papers on the aubject of promotions are e ,enerally 3y come forwarded to the Admiralty, sometimes marked to me for report ; e 'ird, and direct to me. I submit my report to t ‘ le, 3cretary that is generally dealt with by t,..e " and ar , ations' to the Admiralty ; he has these pr Sir Baldwin Walker subsequently for got b. and with a candour wholly foreign to Whib gone into the question with the Duke of Som ers explained that of later years—" I have gener. gll , l l dt with reference to promotions, This originated it difference between the Secretory and myself. The duke from that period has gowe into the question himself. But as carious are these contradictions, they are only the preface to other revelations. 1n 1859, when Mr. Ferraod first contested D evon p ort, ha atatel3 that grievous con: plaints were made to his t to the effect that for many L'innths previously V O P cancies had occurred in the doOkY a,rd which were not filled up. At that time Sir P akington wash such First Lord of the Admiralty. 0. 1 hearing complaints Mr. Ferrand made inqn hies at the Admiralty ; but though he applied tit, -ee or four times nothing was to be elicited. Hoy, ' ever , the n truth came out at last, and it was discov. , 're aot only that vacancies did exist, but that a list " those vacancies was to be had at the Whig cet. ll ! troller's office, though, in the spirit of his orde he had studiously forborne to inform the Boars of Admiralty of the fact. Unfortunately this discovery acme too late, for soon after Lord Derby's Ministry being thrown out, the Duke of Somerset succeeded Sir J. Pakington, and then within a few days every one of those vacancies was filled up 60 as to strengthen the Whig Government. Mr. Ferrand, however, stated an some 30 or 4 0 i 2 his belief that these vacancies consisted of no less t permanent appointments, and that, t, , , , out:h fil led u p in ten days aft er th e Duke of Somerset b so ome First Lord of the Admiralty, they had been yt:l . Pe eel l kept open for some t en mon th s or so by Sir ..13a Idern ty Walkerwith the view of waiting for an oppor,` lo to appoint his own creatures. But these extra...qu i " nary disclosures do not end here. Whilst Sir -Be Walker admitted " there was some little delay on' my part in transmitting some of the names," Sir T. Pasley, at that time the admiral superintendent of the dockyard, stated " delay began in one year (1858) and ended in another (1859), but there was not a year's interval." But Sir B. Walker's own statements exhibit a still greater incongruity. It was not enough, first of all, to deny the report of any vacancies, and then produce the list. Sir B. Walker at different times furnished wholly dif ferent reasons for keeping open these vacancies. At one time, before the commissioners, he alleged the many vessels building by contract, though Mr. Ferrand asserts that no vessels were built by con tract either in 1858 or 1859. At another time, in a letter to the electors of Devonport, in A ugust of 1860, when Mr. F e rrand contested the borOugh of Devonport twice in one month, Sir B. Walker' gav e as his excuse for not filling up the vacancies re ferred to, th a t th e Ch ance ll or o f th e E xc h equ er h. a d made a mistake in his calculations, that there hat. been no money allowed for the salaries of the officers in question, but that now there was some, and the offices had all been filled up. Again whilst Sir B. Walker affected to blame the returns of the super intendent, Sir T. Pasley expressly affirmed that " the delay was at head-quarters; it was some; where between Somerset House and the Admiralty;" that is, it was at the Comptroller's office. whilst Sir B. Walker pretended that " the vacan cancies not being filled up is not detrimental to the public service, because the moment there is a vacancy the o ffi cers of the yard have the power o f putting a person to act," Sir T. Pasley said, there was a long interval when some of the subordi; nate offices i n th e ro pp er y were not fill e d up. No wonder that such contradictions somewhat be wildered the royal commissioners, or that they de sired Sir B. Walker to appear before them again and explain his conflicting statements. But that was not to be. A Deus ex machina appeared in the person of the Duke of Somerset, who shipped off Sir Baldwin to the Pacific, far away from the tribunal‘ of royal commissioners. The upshot, however, Was a temporary success for the Whigs. It was doubt" less the lucky occupants of those vacancies which, in 1860, turned the day against Mr. Ferrand, as it might be those vacancies unfilled which turned the issue against him in 1859. Well, we have no doubt Sir B. Walker is a most honourable and gallant officer, but when it is asserted, as it was last nights that he was quite incapable of conferring an ap pointment for political reasons, we hardly knout whether to wonder more at the audacity or the simplicity of those members who made such a state' ment. And when Mr. Ferrand is assailed for " slaw" dering" an absent man, the noble lord and his ins' maculate npredecessor, his cowardice , mr Mr a . B lke n a h 1 l a e e n tirtr2, s r n shoulda a l b s Osborne, enccaeltaon mind and the t very suspicious circumstances under which be wad spirited off to his command. Corruption is bad enough in all conscience, but hypocrisy is worse; l and when we notice the indignation of honourable gentlemen who sit on the Ministerial side of the house at the bare idea of any imputation of the undue exercise of patronage for political purposes, we echo Mr. Ferrand's answer, sad call up the name of " Augustus Stafford." As to the language used by Lord Clarence Paget last night, it is of a piece, allowing for the peculiarities of the individual, with the conduct of the Ministry during the session. 00 more than one occasion the Premier himself hag replied to the leader of the Conservatives in terms such as have been seldom addressed by a Prime Minister to the chief of the party in opposition. But that we pardon in consideration of the petulance incidental to age and the vexations of a position to which the noble lord can hardly lend himself. is rather too much when a Secretary of the Adini . ralty introduces into the House of Commons the " rowdyism" of a United States Congress, and, secure behind the barrier which modern feeling ha s raised, !ndulges in language which twenty years ' ago he would have been compelled to make good on a very different field. COUNTRY MARKETS. MANCHESTER—THURSDAY. A slender attendance at our market, and English whea t met with a slow consumptive demand, at barely the cur; rency of this day week. Foreign wheat was neglected, an 2d per cental lower. Flour met with a dull sale, at price, the turn in fav our o f b uyers, Oats and oatmeal were dui' and unchanged in price. Indian corn was rather cheaper' Beans at former rates. BUR TON - ON-TRENT—THURSDAY. Old white wheat..4ss to 47s J Old red wheat, ..40s to 44 0 New do. ..438 to 468 I New do. ..39s to 4! Malting barley....34 s to 38s I Oats 22s to 28 0 Grinding d0.....28s to 31s I Beans 348 to Vo BIRMINGHAM —THURSDAY. This morning there was a large supply of English whea t ' but there was only a moderate attendance of the trader and the pri ces o f t hi s day se . nnight receded Ed to 18 Pat qr. Barley, oats, and beans at late ices, and limited fo o l; —English wheat was sold at 40s to 46s for white, and °, O to 40s per 36 stone for red, Barley, new malting 30 ° 40s per qr ; grinding, 24s to 28s Oats, old, 22s ' to V I per 30 stone ; Irish, 18s to 245. Beans, 38s to 428 per '1 Peas, 36s to 42s per 36 stone. BRI STOL--TnußszlY. There was a short su p p l y o f wheat to-day, and sales We re d slow at is per qr un d er previous quotations. In fort heavy trade, a n d d ec li ne d is per qr. Malting barley 11,4 materially changed, b u t f ore i gn grinding sorts in reqtly" and Gd dearer. Oats in retail. EDINBURGH GRAIN—FEE. 24. To-day there was a large s u ppl y o f wheat, which met * , 0 slow sale, at barely last wee k' s prices. Barley met a d u d sale, at former rat es . B eans an d oats sold slowly, all rather cheaper. Wheat on the top Os 6d down . .average Os 2d doe . Barley on the top Os 6d up... average is Id ' ult• Oats on the top 2s Od u p.... , average Os 9ddoit Beans on the top 4s Od up ..average Os 9d dovP' Average Prices. Wheat.. 37s 4d I Oats 31 0 u" Barley ....29s 4d Beans Total Supply and Sales. Wheat ....„..1399 ...1399 qrs Sold 910 qrs 8ar1ey••......1127 qrs Sold 526 qrs Oats Beans 420 qrs Sold 280 qrs a Flour sells as follows :—Whites, 408 jOd ; extras, 38s Od superfine, 36s Od ; fine, 31s Od. _., Births. w i f e of ARMSTRONG,—On the 29th ult , at Farnham, the w ..- Colonel J. W. Armstrong, C. 8., of a son. ATHERLEY.—On the 2d inst., at Charlton-park, Mall; bury, the Lady I sa b e l Ath er l ey , prema t ure ly, of a del* ter, stillborn. CLARK.—On the 2d inst., at Chessingten, Surrey, th e of Gordon W. Clark, N., of a son. KNOK.—On the 2d inst., at 18, Chapel-street, Fark-lallet the lion. Mrs. Stuart Knox, of a daughter. Marriages. DREVER—LEISK.--On the Ist inst., at 11 11hea d, G , e s ' zOVI,SOO Captain William S co tt D re y er , M a d ras St a ff Corps, o f of the late Colonel James Dreyer, to Eliza, daughte r Robert Leisk, Esq. ROGERSON—FOSTER.—On the 3d inst., at St. Thora fis o f Heaton Norris, Lanc as hi re, G eorge R usse ll Roge r° er' of Liverpool, to Sarah A nn, d aug h ter o f Mr. J. °t of Levenshu:ree, near Manchester. Deaths. age BLACKBURNE.—On th e 3d inst , at Islington, %-. n. 43-‘, Blackburne, Esq., lat e o f 60, Mark-lane, city, aged COLLINGS.-011 the 29th ult., at Bayswater, Elizaha'A relict of the late George Collings, Esq., of Cannon 13 Hampstead, aged 90. -rent , DICKINSON. —On the 28th ult., at The Grove, Lee, Henry Dickinson, Esq., aged 57. MARSHALL.—At Chickerell, Dorset, the Rev. William Marshall, 8.D., aged 90. London : Pr;nzed and Prblislied by WILLIAM ANDA' 12, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at Z•HE SUN Office Ne',. of Strand, .n the Precinct of the `Savoy, .n the Cour 3 Middlesex —Friday, March 4, 1864.