The Sun. — London, England, 1854-05-06 00:00:00

~_ .. n~+~-iii ,:donaid au o Duchess o Wales, and ode on horse sided in the omoting and ie Palace of ,er 3 o'clock, ommissioner. int Canuing, , Sir B. 11• o'clock. .rday. ,lbert took )n. Colonel attended on Countess of d de Tablel, iley de Roe, their pre- ed her Roy%►l Gloucester- esterday the ort and a c • ,airman (Sir •ogress mad• the culti - I entertained operations• the absence )ugh the dif• to the sales he other. In reholders, part based the proceed he directors, 'em 4001. to Y.) and sluggish was only I , and )ut auy van al alteration• employed 1 0 'ed direct at stock. Th e atty notice oing for the some of the booth Ameri =stances of nx ieties and ionoy, and mi,te as large ersona calm p aining. 11 continueS m provement uy ers in at id ling fancy or low qua' psi ng in the s extensive, 'hcr stock of 11 dant, and I. There is , are is also of lore is little Biro to clear t. Yarns- - tg in g. It is quantities artially eta hag new to diminished eSf3 there is result must aught after risen to 18!. even at ails )re seuted to share, tb e whole, ,er state of cc ded. At al id caused oz. Bar Mud, 775. 9„d. Bar cri of gold, I. per oz. is , reaction ceedingli • GrAnal l. A ,gua Fria, done, the 'Sonde has i‘luiti have as reached and Penin" mreely any rivals .gave tances hag ▪ parti- generally h market a:re to no done at 6. fr.) 3. light for ( 70,P 0 and su .filed 3 of G :cod ang ha ele• for Ri. chivrd d— -Marl )01 L. ;er , from KA 3 rtah ; rri ved- - n, as re an:cl. i. 9,M, )o ; Col ':' Johnl ', r.) a.m. I Jr ,131. • d J: ►no: up' i ter, A. A 1• [PA, !et f OT Thurs ;aptain Mr. •y, and along engine -uction LH the )11 and- 10 10 50 13 31 27il 22 25 •' St. 25 • St. St. 10 St. 50 16i St. 19i 50 20 11i 10' 40 25 25 St. 8/ 2a St. 50 6t. 16 16 20 20 10 10 • St. 10 St. 25 20 20 50 20 20 10 73 Ti• 0 L i A.l M (THIS DAY.) BRITISH RAILWAYS. RAILWAYS. Closing Prices yestalay. 'Aberdeen ... Ambg Xottng. Bost, and Basta. Junct.. , Belfast & Ballymena. Birming. Wolverh. & Stour Valley ...... Birk enlid. Lancsh. Cheshire Junct Do. Chesh. & Birk., £5O and &25 Cons. Do., .. Blyth & Tyne original, .C 25 (issd. at .£45) , Bristol and Exeter Caledonian Chester & Holyhead. Cork and Bandon Cork, Black, & Pass. Cornwall Crieff Junction Dublin&BelfastJunc. Dundee Perth &Aber- deen Junction Do. New East Anglian Do., (XlB E 6z H) Eastern Counties Eastern Union, A Stock Ds., B. Stock 0., New A ...... East Lancashire .... din ,burgh & Glasgow' Edinb. and Peebles... Edin. PALI di Dundee Forth & Clyde June. Glasgow& S. Weston Great Northern Stk Do., A. Stock Do., B. Stock Gt. Sth. StWesi.(lre., Great Western [rish South-Eastern Lancaster & Carlisle, Do., Thirds Do. New Thirds La.ncash.andYorksli Do., Fifths Do., Wet. Riding Un Leeds Northern Liv.Crsby.&Southpt London & Blackwai Loud. Tilb. & Sthend. Lond. Bright & S.Cst. Loud. and N. West.' Do. Fifths Do.lo/.5h.,M&8... ( 'Do. Eighths London andS. Westu Do., £5O Po., £4O IlLndndrryclz Coleraine Lndndrry. & Enuisk. Manch.Shef.& Lineln Do., Man. & Lin. Un. Midland Do. Birmng. & Derby Midld. G. West. (Ire.) Do. Half Shares Newcastle & Carlisle. Newmarket Do., Bury Extension. Nwpt.Aberg. & Had. Newry & Enniskillen Newry Warreupoint and Rostrovor Norfolk Northn.Counties Un. North British North Devon, No. 1. Do., No. 2 Do., A Deferred Do., B Guaranteed North London Do. New £lO N. &S. Wstrn. , 'Tamp stead, and City Jn North Staifordshire North Western N. & S. Westrn. Junc Nuneaton, Hinckley,, and Leicester.. 50 - 54 I - iP 7 - 7i - t")xford, Worcester, &I Wolverhau.ptun Portsmouth 27 - 29 Scottish Central Scottish Midland . 84 86 5L - 53 50 - 52 Shrewsbury di. Bi Do. L. & N. Western Guaranteed St Gbk Shrewaby. & Heiefd Shrewsby. & Gheste, (N. W. Min ; Do. lialveso. Do. Osweatry Shropshire Union Do. A, B, C,& D,fully paid up at per cent South Devon South Eastern South Wales S. Yrksh. & Erv. Duu 50 -- 52 3 -- 2A 13 -- 15 66 -- 74 10 -- 1- 4 - 3itt 58i - 34 - Staines, Wok. &Wok Stockton & T'arliug Stockton & Eartlepi Taff Vale De. £lO shares. ... - ••• 29 - 31 Do. Pref., No. 1 Thames Haven Dock and Railway Vale of Neath Waterfd. & Kilkenny Waterford&Limericit West Cornwall West End of London and Crystal Palace.. West Loudon Wimbledn & Croydon York Newctl.&Berw. Do. Extensions ... --- 6 - all 51s. 100 20 13 64i 91 - 5i 45 Do. G.N.E. Purchase York & N. Midland._ 46 FOREIGN. 1 2 9 Antwerp&Rotterdarn It --3 id xn x in o 3 Belgian Eastn. June. 4 1 20 8 Beziers to Graissossac 5 4 d 2 0 2s. Bombay, Baroda, an. Central India,Scrip p Pm 8.,z" ... Central of It al y tu all Charleroi & E:quePu — 124 17 1 all Demerara 20 20 14 Dijon a ndßesancon — p 8 Dutch Rhenish 2f) all East Indian 2 ! ) 2 Do. Extensi on ... _ 1 A d c ,+ l all Gt. Indian Penin sula p 10 Juliet. of France •_ .•• 10 Grd. Trunk of Canada— ...d .I„' 3 30 Do. Debentures all Do. do — 4 0 10 Gt. Central of Franc e 4 1 3 d 61 , OLI all Gt. Western o, Cana& Shares 2Ol 2l • • ... Do. Bonds (Ist is.)'s7 9 llp '2oi 151 Hamilton & Torontc. I§p 1 00 all Do. 6 per cent. 20 5 Lake Const. k Bask 5 all Lucca & Pistoja 5 p.c. pref• dis 2 0 15 Luxmbourg 4. 5 10 10 Do. (Railway) 24 3 5 2 De..t 3 ref ll 5 3 Do. (Canal) ll 10 5 Do. 6p. ct. 11 20 8 Lyons and Gmeva 20 12 Lyons & Mediten-an. 20 10 Aadvas id 33? 33h Maria Antonia 10' a ll' Do. do. New 21) 2 Melbourne Dk. &Ry — 20 all Namur & Liego (with interesO 6i 7 20 all Do. (ex interest) 16 all Northern of Franco 29i 29i Do. 201. 3 p. c Bds. 20 all (ftuy.B.&Ams.Shs.) •• • 10 all NorwegianTrunkPrei 8 —9 xn • 20 10 Paris and Lyons l2l 129 40 all Ditto Bond 10 all Paris and Orleans._ 41 20 all Paris and Rouen 33 35 , 20 all Paris and Strasbourg 294 • 29 1 20 10 ParisCaen &Cherbrg. pm 104 10i Quebec & Itichmouo 20 all Rouen and Havre ... 20 12 Reyal Dar 2 ld 5 2 Royal Swectit,a 20 all Sambre and Meuse 7t gi 6 Do. 54 p. cent. Pref 20 6 Southern of France_ pm 20 8 St. Andrew's and Quebec (A) — 8i all West r lauders 3 4 1.0 all Do 5!; per c• Pref.- d 1 :0 10 Western of Franco ley-2ipxd = d ~ • 10 7 West. of Switzerlam. d '2O 2 Wiesbaden 20 115 IZealand ............... 6 5 d — x ----- in 1 1 St. pm 1 " MINES all Ag-ua all Anglo Austrin. Gold all Anglo Californian 2 Australasian 6 Australian all Australian Cordillera all Australian Freehold all Ave Maria all Baden (LA. Duchy cf) all Blaenarvon Tr. & Coal all 'iiritish Austrlu. Gold 13.5 British Iron 24 3razilian T.mp .(issued at £5 pm all Do. Cocaes & Cuiada 15 Do. St. John Del Rey Carson's Creek Clarendon Con. Co. of Jamaica all Clobre Copper 1 Colonial Gold 15 Copiapo all Copper Min. of Eng. all Do. Pref. 7 p. cent. all English and Austrin. Copper Smeltg.Co all General all Great Nugget Vein all Do. Registered all Great Polgooth all Liberty all Linares all Lond.&Californ.Go lo Quartz Crush. Co. all \lariquita 9 •viesican&S.Americu. all New Granada... all New Linares Mining and Smelting Co all Nouveau Monde all Pontgibaud Silver, Lead Min. & Smelt i a 6 8 4 5 I,} 2 29 —3l a id 39 4 1 i li 10 12 50 60xcl 2 4y li - 2i ... -- ... i - 1 1 - JL A - i 10 - 1 ... - ... B 6 - 7 i - i ..• ••• 15 17 29 31 8 —lO 3 4 4 2i 3 i a d I Port Philip all quartz Reck all ithynmey Inn , 15 Do. New 10i Santiago de Cuba all Australian 7 Vin Croft all United Mexican all Waller all West 6Tanada all West Mariposa 12a. Worthing Mining oi Australia all Yuba • ••• i . cl i 7 i JOINT-STOCK BANKS. 2,11 S CELLANEOUS ....... 4O all Australasia 72 74 ' 40 all British Colonial Bank E ~,5 5 all Nubia Coal and Iron 3 ... •. 8 • „ 4 17i kustralian Agricult. 37 37 and Loan Company ... ... 1 50 all British N. American ... ... 0 14 I.ustralsn.Pcific. Mail ... 2 25 0 2 5 C C hh Australia, t a r t d d . A Bankn k . o s , f ° I 4. C n ii d i s i n a i a a , 1 1 -- - ; 0 8 Xustraln. Royal Mail ... •.•di 4i L.. 9 4 Berlin Water Works ... ••• ...--. 1 d 1 19 u 40 Brit. American Land ... ... 100 25 Colonial •. ••• • ..• •.• 5 1 Brit. & Coln. Smeltg. 100 20 Commercial of L e nd and Reduction Co.. ... ••• 20 12 English Scottish and 1 00 32 Canada 75 8 0 Australian 5 4 d .. 5 5 Crystal Palace 6l 6i 6i i 20 15 '.ond. Chart. Bk. of 0 4 Do. New..... Australia • ..... •••• ... - see ( , 4 2 Crystal Pal.of France ... ..• 3 2 d 15 3 / 4 60 20 London and County 40 3 Eastern Steam ... ... 50 10 London Joint Stock.. •.., „, 25 ... 20 ElectritTelegraph(A) 16 18 17 3 / 4 100 20 35 Lsountido.na&iWepsrtomviinnsetiearl ... . 25 all Do. (B) ... 1 1 Electric Teleg. of Ir ::: -- ::: 100 of England 15 14 Geu. Steam Navigat. 20 20 10 Do. i•New ... — , 18 General Screw Steam ... ... 50 22 National of Ireland . ... .. 2 ° 7:+, Irish Bect:oot Sugar .., ...... 20 10 Magdalena St. Navig. . , , 20 all New South Wales—. 32 34 23 all Oriental Bank of 1 all Nat. Pat. Steam Fuel .... ... Corpo..ation 10 3 Netherlands Land.... 1 3 6. 2 IN.S. W. Coal & Inter. 25 5 Do. Nc'r 100 25 P e ovincial of Ireland ~, ... Steam Navigat. Co. .., ... i 1 10 all Do. eirr ... ... 1 all N. B. A us tralasian... 1 i Do. New 5 1 Royal Australn.Bkg. 20 10 Nrth.ofEuropeSteam ..., ••• & (4 0 , d Iron C 0.... ... ... ~‘ 5 all Peel Rr. Ld. & Minrl. ... 25 all t 311th Aus.ralia ...... 36 —3B i i d 4k 25 all Unio iof Austra"a„ 66 68 67i 7 ap, all Peninsular& Oriental ... ... 58i t " 35 Do its all Portland Iron go. •• ... 37 0 i P 50 1 2 0 . ~.................... min , ,), T,..,, Do. New ....n.d..0..n......,.. .? . 1 —__ 7 . vu 0 Royal Mail Steam 1 25 a . ll Scot. Austral. Invest. Si 2A 21 2 0 South Aus,ral.Land 34 36 1 , all Submar. Telegraph.. 1 in .:,- all Do. Registered. lastln the even a i c n co g u , account of w atsbestfalltneedratl holf,tthteh the : o r rt qui eg s e o w f Anglesey raund 1 the superintendence of a firm in Long Acre, whereas it should have been that the whole was under the entire wv 21 4 Wu Diemen Land 1 —ll management of avows. Gillon of Oxford-Amt. 22A 23 4i - 4i ri 8i 14 —l2 dis 15 - 17 8 - 7,1 89 - 91 52i - 136 - 14,; 10 . 4 1 : . ii 7 - 8 11' - 1O 1i : i 58 - 60 53 - 55 22 --- 2~ - • i 68 G 2 85i 86 73 75 119 - 121 88 - 1)0 72 72§ 85 - 10 - Ili - par 974 • 95i • l g d d - 1:4 - l 0 - Business done St. this day. 50 --..............,,,, St, 100 100 all all all 100 84 100' 100 54 100 100 42) . 34 all all 100 2/ 2s 100 100 100 100 10 26i 13i 20 20 all 100 all 26 20 90 120 12 i S t. St. 25 72i 2 ( St. 59 i 1 1 61 I 1 6 971 8 7 61 95 10 10 20 76i 7 191 571 i I 10 4i 10 6, 46 i I 5290 30 St. St. St. 16 12 to 12 p 59i Sid Si P 981 95i A 4 ' l ' 776 12:1n 9 1 St St per cent. AT F Lftt3lli6 Company London &' N. West. Caledon... Gt.Nrthn.l Gt. West, VII. New. Berw. Y. 84N M.l 'llo Do IS. Castel-13' I Do Norfolk.. L.& N. W. Stekton Darliugt. Aidlancl.. E. Count. I D 0......... Do. L.& &Ln&j•'k D 0......... a North! D 0... Lancash & Yorksh. A.MClear itockt. & Darlingt. Do. ..... • ltWestn. T i rr.' A ,1-r1 Paid,l RAthwAte. all Bedford and 1 Bletcbley 100 Buckghamsh 1 all Clydesdale Jo 100 E. Lincoln gr 6 per cent. all Jla.s. Barr. & Neils. Direct all Do. New all Glstr.& Dn. Fr 1 all lirtlpl. Dk. Railway all Hull & Selby all Do. Shares. all Do. Shares. all Lon.&.Greenw all Do.Preferenee• 100 ITiowestoft gr. 4 per cent. WO Do. 6 per ct. all Nlaneb. Bxtn. and Matlock all ltiiddlesbro' Redcar. all Aidld.Bradfd all Northern and Eastern 5 p. c. Do. 6 per ct. all Do. Fixeds p e all Prest. &Wyro 12 Do. %bares. .00 itoystn.3;, Hit. .00 )o.Shepth.St LBs Shef.Roth a .c. Goole g. 5 p.c. 94 Statiordsh. all Near Valleygr' 6 per cent... all I Do .... 100 I ,Vilts&Somrs, PREFERENCE SHARES. 1.00 kberdeen I. 0 •, Do. No. 2, p. c. 30 BlythandTyne 10 per c. pref. (issd. at 50/) Bris. & Es. 4 p. c. St. 5 Do. 4p. c. Shares 1.00 Caledonian £lO all Chester & Holyhead, Guar. 5i per cent I 64 Cork &Bandons4p.e. l all Dundee Perth &Aber - • • Junction io(131023) all Eas dee t n ju g 6 per cent all o. (X 5) 7 per cent 2 Do. (£7 17s) 7p. c all Eastern Counties Ex tension, 5 p. c. No. 1 all Do. No. 2 all Do. New 6 p. c. St. all Eastern Union, Scrip Guar. 6 per cent all Do. 51., 10 per cent.) all Do. 101. Debentr.Sh -100 East Lancash. 6p. cts. all East and West York _ 5 10 St. 5 shire June. Pref all EdinbPrth.&Dundet 5i per cent. 100 Glasgow &S.Western Guar. 5 per cent WO Great Northn. 5 p. c 100 Do. sp. c. Redeem , at 10p. c, prem. 10 Do. 4i p. c. Scrip.... 6 Gt.N. of Scot. I st Pref all Gt. Southn.&lVestm. (Ireland) Eighths)... 5 Do. 4 per c. Prof. Sh. 6 ra. Westn. (Berks Hants Ex. 5 p. c)... 100 Do. coy. rod. 4JJ p.c. 1.99 Do. con. red. 4p. c. 1,.90 Dc,. lived. 4p. c.... 6 Lan. &York. F. £.,2(1 too Do. 6p. c. Stock ... 13 Leeds N. 6p. c. No.l 9 Do. Quarters, 1848... 100 London and Brighton Guaranteed 5 p 100 Do. Pref., sp. C. Si. Do. Convertible, 5 p. c., 1852 100 Do. No w Guar.6 pc. 100 Lon. &N. W., Coy. & Nuneaton 5 Loudon &S. Western 15 8i 8 10 5 Do.. 10 liork&N. Midland/1 And S. Purel 3 2 _.- i - Con. Thirds all Londonderry&Coler Shares all Londy. & Ennis. Sh. all Kan., Shef., & Lin., Shares, No. 1. ... all Do. New, 4:10 .4 Do. £6 all Karypt. Carl. 4 p.c all Do. 4i per cent 104 Do 100 Kid. Consol.6 p.c. St. Lop )o. Consol, Bristol & 6 per cent._ 5 Do. Pref. ‘q per cent 6 Norfolk Debenture 10u Do. Pref. 4 p. c. Stock 100 Do. sp. c. Eat 100 Do. 51 per ct. Ref_ 100 Do. Way. Val, sp. c 100 North British all North Staffordshire 100 Oxford, Worcester, az Wolyerh.Xls,6 p.c.' 15 Do all Scot. Cent. , New Pref all Shrews. &Birm.N.G. all Shrewsby. & Chester (Nor.W.Min), 8 p.c. 10 Do. 5 per cent all South Devon . Ds. fixed, 44 per cent all S. Eastern (Reading Ann.) of £1 Os. 6d. 100 Do. Lqper cent. all S.Yorksh.4p.c.Gnar all Stockton and Dar lington, 4 per cent 5 Do. do. do all Stockton and Hartl- - 1 pool, guar. 5 p. c. till Ist July, 185 E 3 Waterf(l.&Kilk.6p.c. 100 York, Newea,stle ,and I Bervriek,4 p.c. Prof.' ii = -66 l l' 12 -- 23 - 24 • ... - • 3 -3i 112 - ...ad 113 104 - 106 93 - 91 ... -.. . 74 - 6i 94 87 88 I 'l2B d 94 - 96 'll 1: ''i 15i -- 9i -- 11 -- id -- 22i -- 98 -- 15 -- 16i 10 13 P 23 ]OO 20 2 --- 87 -. 22 3i - 1k - ail 10 25 10 1 10 1 1 ;T) RENT ,Lisuig rims yesterday. 6 - 94 94 - 96 , . .....". ... 102 - 104 51 - 52 25 --- 26 12 - 13 - 2}- 2i 6 = io 54 - 56 xd xa ••• 3 - ii = 29 90 - 92 rs. this day. 6464 Pin i pm 3} i 113 12 1051 5 91 • • ♦. ••• 21 - 21 5 3 / 4 6} 8i 9 i id pa] .29 131 - lid I AP d 2 - -1 - 10 130 dis TTIE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, VIAY 6, 1854. vi PE RTAL PA RLI AIIE NT sary to make this statement, because the veracity of what he stated the other evening had been called in question, and he wished, i i conciusion, to asx his noble friend (Lord Clarendon) whether he had received any further report upon this subject ? -- - HOUSE OF LORDS—(YESTERDAY.) Their Lordships met at five o'clock. THE VICTORY AT ODESSA.—OFFICIAL REPORT. The Marquis of CLANRICARDE said it was re ported throughout the town that a telegraphic despatch from Belgrade, containing information sent by her Ma jesty's Consul at Varna, had been received to-day at the Admiralty to the effect that her Majesty's forces had achieved a considerable effective operation at Odessa. He wished to know whether the Government could con firm that rumour, and if so, whether they would furnish the house with any particulars on the subject. (Hear.) The Earl of CLARENDON, whose rising was a signal for silence, said—My Lords—l have great pleasure in being able to answer my noble friend's question in the affirmative. (Hear, hear.) The news to which he alludes has arrived this morning by telegraph from Belgrade. Perhaps the best way of communicating the news to your lordships is to read the despatch. (Cheers.) Her Majesty's consul writes from Belgrade on the 4th of May, at a quarter before seven in the afternoon : "Admiral Dundas announces through her Majesty's Consul at Varna that a division of the steam-boats of the combined squadron destroyed, on the 22d of April, the Imperial mole and the Russian ships at Odessa. The mole of the quarantine and the foreign ships, and the city itself, have not been injured—(cheers)—great care having been taken with respect to private and neutral property. (Cheers.) The Paella of Belgrade stated yesterday that the great powder magazine had been blown up, and that the land batteries had been en tirely destroyed—(cheers)—and that the loss which had been sustained by the land forces did not exceed 8 men killed and 18 men wounded." (Cheers.) I am further informed, my lords, that the fleets, immediately after the attack on Odessa, sailed towards Sebastopol. (Renewed cheeriug.) THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE. Lord REDESDALE alluded to some articles in the newspapers making attacks upon the Duke of Cambridge for delaying his journey to the East, and said it would be satisfactory if the Government would state, as he firmly believed was the case, that there was no founda tion for the charges therein made. The Duke of NEWCASTLE said he had not seen the articles which the noble lord had mentioned; but he was not surprised that any member of the house should feel that the character of the Duke of Cambridge ought to be vindicated on such an occasion. Yet, on the other hand, he could not help feeling that all who knew the duke, and indeed the whole country, would treat any such aspersions with the contempt which they deserved. (Cheers.) Not only had the illustrious duke acted under the instructions of the Government, but in all the transactions which he had been engaged he had executed his instructions with fidelity, as well as with the greatest ability and success. The Government had every reason, therefore, to be satisfied with the duke. (Hear, hear.) It was their wish that he should proceed to Vienna as well as to Paris. With reference to the imputation of slackness, he (the Duke of Newcastle) could assure the house that the noble duke was, in the first place, most anxious to be I employed in the service ; and, in the next, that he had expressed the greatest anxiety, from day to day, to go to his post. (Hear, hear.) He lost no time in proceed ing from Paris to Vienna, when he received instructions from the Government ; and when his mission was termi nated at Vienna, he went, without a moment's delay, to Trieste, and from thence to Corfu, where a steam-boat was to be ready to convey him to Constantinople, where he (the Duke of Newcastle) had no doubt he had now arrived. (Chieers.) The Earl of HARDWICKE trusted that the country would place entire reliance in the moral character of the officers engaged in the important service in the East, and that those officers would not be urged on to rash measures by the ill-advised attacks of the press. The Earl of CLARENDON—My lords, in respect to the question with which my noble friend concluded his speech. I have to say that the Government has had no further reports with respect to this operation laid before them, I have certainly listened, perhaps not with surprise but with some regret, to the speech of my noble friend who has just sat down, for though at the termination of his speech he did make a charge against the Government, the whole of his speech was in fact a charge against the naval officers. (Hear, hear.) lam sorry to find that my noble friend still insists upon proving the veracity and correctness of the Russian general—l suppose, founding himself upon the veracity and correctness that have distin guished the Russian statements for the last six or seven months—(hear, hear)—but I am happy to think that all those persons with whom. I have communicated since this despatch was laid upon the table do not share the opinions of the noble marquis, and do not think that the peculiar duty with which these officers were charged was performed ill that slack, and, I must say, that cowardly manner, in which he charges them with having acted. The duty which these officers were celled upon to perform was not to go and prevent any military ope rations, of which nothing was known, as the noble mar quis would have you to understand, They were simply sent to make a reconnoissance. They were narrowly to observe the Russian line of forts along the coast of Georgia, Circassia, and Crimea, and the approaches by sea and land. My lords, that was a very proper instruc tion to give, and a very proper precaution to take, before war was declared ; but when the admirals were expect ing it to be declared, it would have been monstrously improper if any act of hostility had been committed by our fleets until war was declared. This report of the ope ration is datedthe 16th of March, and it is foundedupon an instruction of Admiral Dundas, dated the Bth of March, at which time he could have had no news from England later than the end of February. Knowing, as they must have done, what were the state of the rela tions between this country and Russia, and ignorant, as they must have been, of whether the differences between Russia and the Porte were not at that moment capable of being settled, it would have been most unpardonable if the commanders of these vessels had gone beyond their instructions. (Hear, hear.) My noble friend cheers. What were these instructions ? These instructions have been laid before Parliament be cause they were communicated to the Russian Govern ment, and they were that we intended to have complete mastery of the Black Sea, and that if any Russian ships of war were met cruising in that sea they were to be required to return to the nearest Russian port. It was under these instructions of December that Captain Jones acted, and it appears that the Russian naval officers were perfectly aware that he was acting under these in structions, because your lordships will observe that the moment they saw the French and English vessels they set off for port, and one of them, having in tow a trans port in which were troops, cut it adrift in order to get out of the way of the vessels of war. My noble friend (Lord Clanricarde) quotes the St. Petersburg Journal, and says that 5,000 effective troops have been removed, and he then tells us the great service that these 5,000 troops will perform when they are carried to Sebastopol, and what 2,300 did in an island in the Mediterranean. But the first proof he gives of the confidence he has in the journal which he quotes, and upon which he asks your lordships to reply—(no, no) —is to divide the number mentioned by one-half. He says 5,000 first-rate troops are brought away, and will do infinite mischief, and then proposes that, to allow for exaggeration, we should take the number at 2,500, and argues about the great mis chief which they can do. I should be disposed to dimi nish the number much more, because all that I see is a mention of 300 men and 150 men. These are all the troops which we hear of being brought away from these fortresses. Then, with respect to the ships. It is true they had each four 681 b. cannonades, one on each broad side forward, and one abaft. My noble friend says they cleared for action. What does Captain Jones say ? " They were in great confusion, and, had it been our intention to attack them, very assailable." I have not the least doubt that the Sampson, which had on board six heavy guns and 200 men, assisted by a French fri gate of about the same force, could with the utmost facility have sunk all the ships ; but they abstained from doing it, because they were obeying their instructions. (Hear, hear.) And because those restrictions did not permit them, nor was it likely they would permit them, to commit acts of hostility against Russia before war was declared. My noble friend would have had us, during the last six weeks of the negotiation, without giving notice to Russia of being at war with her, commit acts of hostility against her. Now, my lords, I have not the least doubt that Captain Jones and the gallant French officer who was with him, and entirely approved of and agreed with him in all he did, made great sacrifices of their feelings. I believe they felt they were foregoing a great advantage which they might easily have effected. I have no doubt it would hare been more agreeable to them and perhaps to the public, who do not reason very closely on such matters, to have sunk these ships. But, my lords, such an advantage would have been gained at a cost which I hope we shall never incur—at the cost of dishonour—and would have given to the Emperor of Russia an advantage which—whatever other advantage my noble friend may attribute to him—l hope he will never enjoy, that of having us clearly and distinctly in the wrong. My noble friend seems to think I speak too lightly of these vessels. I beg my noble friend and your lordships to believe that 1 am not in the habit of making to this house any statements for which I do not conceive that I have sufficient authority. There were one or two mat ters, not mentioned in Admiral Dundas's despatch, to which I adverted in the few remarks that fell from me the other evening, which were gathered from a private letter from the admiral. I have obtained the permission of my right hon. friend the head of the admiralty (Sir James Graham) to read a portion of that letter, in order to justify what I then said. The letter states :—" He (Captain Jones) was most opportunely on the Circassian coast at the moment of the destruction of several forts of the Russians. The Circassians bad possession of the coast, and were plundering the ruins of the fortresses— a matter most important for us to know before war was declared. Captain Brock and several officers landed, and were cordially welcomed by the Circassians, who told them that all the forts were destroyed, or were to be so, except one." Your lordships will observe that this was the first time that we had been is direct com munication with the Circassians—also a most important point. "Captain Jones had a great deal to do with the Russian transport, but I consider he acted strictly ac cording to the order we have received, ordering all ships to return to the nearest port." The Marquis of CLANRICARDE—What port? Toe Earl of CLARENDON—Then, with resp ect to the picked troops, on whose services my noble friend seems to place so much reliance, in consequence of what he gathers from that authentic source, the St. Petersburg Journal, these people who are inured to hardships, and whose services will therefore be so valuable, Admiral Dundas says :—" I u nderstand all the soldiers on board the vessel belonged to different regiments, which was observed by the numbers on their caps. This corroborates a statement nutae by one of the pilots, that the forts were manned by soldiers eon dernned to punishment, (Laughter.) There is now no longer any communication by laud from the north to the south of Circassia, and supplies to Russian forts must be got by sea, or where the inhabitants are friendly by land. I apprehend the Russians would not have taken this singular step if it had been pos,ible to retain pos session of the forts, which I find were of stone, erected at great expense, and entirely supported by sea com munications. The six steamers were packets from Odessa to Constantinople, and one of them was the vessel Mr. Elcock the engineer was in." I think, then that I was justified in stating th a t they were post office packets. (Hear, hear.) But my noble friend seems to think that we have fulfilled no engagement we held out to this country and to the Emperor of Russia, when we said we intended to be masters of the Black Sea, My lords, that engagement I consider to have been most fully carried out. (Hear, hear.) It may not have been so according to the view of my noble friend, that the whole fleet ought to have been cruising in the Black Sea during the whole of the winter ; but had it done so, I am sure that he would have been the first to have brought under your lordships' notice—and very properly so—the disabled state in which that fleet would have been at the moment when it was most required for effective service. I say that, to all i ntents and purposes, we have carried out our declaration, and have remained masters of the Black Sea. The great object which we had was to enable the Turkish Government to convey troops and stores to its Asiatic possessions. Every time the Turkish Government desired to do this, it has been enabled by her Majesty's fleet to do so. Before these instructions reached Constantinople, Lord Stratford had informed us that the Turkish fleet was entirely locked up in the Bosphorus, that it could not convey troops and stores to the places where they were required, and that without the aid of the allied fleets they must remain in that helpless condition. My lords, troops and stores have been conveyed to every portion of the Asiatic pos sessions of the Sultan ; and no ships have to our know ledge come out of Sebastopol. It is perfectly true these —I may call them small vessels —these six packets did come out from Sebastopol, and were employed in help ing to burn and destroy certain forts, and to bring away certain men who, although they were so strong and so fearless of the British officers as my noble friend stated, were embarked at midnight. Anybody who knows the na ture of the Black Sea, who knows the situation of Sebasto pol, and the prodigous advantages which the Russians in consequence enjoy, and who knows that the allied fleets have to overlook and defend 900 miles of coast during a winter of more than usual severity—a severity which, by the last accounts, is by no means over, for one of the severest days of the ee hole year was Good Friday last— and who knows the difficulty of that service—l am sure any naval man would be of opinion that it is impos sible to prevent a ship or two slipping out at some time or other and slipping back again. (Hear, hear.) Bat to say that that in any way nullifies our assurance, or that we remain one bit the less masters of the Black Sea, oe capable of carrying out the intention we announced, is, I say, a mere mockery of the house. Having said thus much, I really must re-echo what fell from my noble and gallant friend opposite (Lord Ha,rdwicke). I must ex press a hope that, now we really are at war with Russia, these criticisms in the spirit which I fear animates my noble friend (Lord Clanricarde) may in future be avoided. I do not complain of any attack upon the Government ; I think that is all right ; but I am quite sere my noble friend does not know as I know the deep annoyance, or rather I should say the menta l a n g uish, that some of Yd as any whom En these statements have caused to me n as gallant and as devoted glalld to evertheknew n s e e w r v.( H iceo (Hear, a their e hear.)ir ce n tIo think thaa r when we consider the peculiar nature of the service in which these men are engaged, some latitude ought to ba CHIMNEY SWEEPERS BILL. This bill was read a third time and passed. THE EVACUATION OF THE RUSSIAN FORTS IN THE BLACK SEA. The Marquis of CLANRICARDE wished to know from her Majesty's Government whether any informa tion had been received, or any further reports made re specting the operations of the Russian fleet on the east ern coast of the Black Sea, in addition to the papers already on the table ; because he must say, with refer ence to the conversation which took place in that house on a former evening, the report which had been de livered to their lordships the day before yesterday, so fir from contradicting the account of the affair published upon official authority by the Russian Government, en tirely confirmed the material statements contained in the Russian report. It would be in their lordships' recol lection that his noble and gallant friend opposite (Lord Hardwicke) had referred on a former even ing to the operations which the Russian fleet were said to have performed, and successfully carried out, on the eastern shore of the Black Sea--viz., the destruction of several f irts which it was no longer thought desirable to occupy, and the removal of the troops who were gar risoned there to a point where they would be more use ful in the war in which Russia was engaged. On that occasion, although anxious to take no part in that con versation, yet, after the observations that then fell from the noble earl the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, he could not refrain from saying that the version of the transaction published by the Russian Government differed very greatly from the noble earl's representation of what occurred. The noble earl stated, first, that the Russian operations were not of the character and importance that had been assigned to them; secondly, that the evacua tion of these forts by Russia was the best of proofs that we were the masters of the Black Sea ; and, thirdly, that the news of the declaration of war by her Majesty against the Emperor of Russia not having arrived in those waters, it would not have been consistent with the instructions that had been given to the admirals com manding the allied fleets to have preventedthe operations of the Russians. Now, this last assertion was one of very great importance ; because, if it was necessary for the allied squadrons to wait for the intelligence of the decla ration of war before interfering to prevent such an ope ration on the part of the Russian fleet, then he (Marquis of Clanricarde) said that faith had been kept neither with this country nor with our allies. For it was distinctly stated by members of the Government in both houses of Parliament, after the massacre at Sinope had excited such universal indignation, that orders had been given to the admirals commanding the fleets in the Black Sea to prevent the possibility of any such disaster occurring to Turkish ships again, and to confine the Russian fleet in the port of Sebastopol, and not allow them to undertake any operation whatever. The phrase used by the First Lord of the Admiralty in the other house was that no Russian ship of war should be permitted to navigate the Black Sea. And more particularly with respect to this very class of operations, the noble earl in that house, ad verting to his (the Marquis of Clanricarde's) observations on the 14th of Feb., distinctly stated that if we were not to interfere in the manner in which the Government pro posed to do, we might have passively to witness the spec tacle of the Russian fleet moving its forces from one part of the Russian dominions to another. A menace to the same effect was also held out to the Russian Admiral, and, indeed, of this very menace the Emperor himself co m plained. Now, we had the Russian report of these operations to which he (the Marquis of Clanricarde) had referred, very correct rumours concerning which were reported in this country ; but it was astonishing how very late correct information on the subject was re ceived by her Majesty's Government. First of all, the Russian Governmeut published, by authority, an ac count of these transactions, and that account was now entirely corroborated in all essential particulars by the report which Captain Jones sent to Admiral Dundas. The official statement of the Russian Government was, that under the present circumstances these forts on the eastern coast of the Black Sea were no longer desirable to be held or occupied by Russian troops ; and as to the argument of the noble earl (Lo rd Clarenon), that the destruction of these forts proved our mastery of the Black Sea, why the fact was that these forts were never erected for maritime purposes, or at least were never intended to sustain an attack from a hostile fleet. It was naturally most important to Russia to withdraw the troops from these forts and to concentrate them where they would be effective against the Turkish forces and against our own. They performed this service success fully, according both to their own account and to that of our officer. It was true that our officer said there were but four transports, while the Russian account men tioned five ; but this discrepancy was accounted for by the circumstance mentioned in the latter accounts, that one of the transports was unable to perform her service. There seemed no reason to doubt the accu racy of the Russian statement, that the number of men removed was 5,000 ; but suppose one-half were deducted, the remainder, 2,500 men, was a most im portant accession to the Russian forces, and their re moval was a great operation. Why, 2,800 men held the island of Minorca against 10,000 for three months. The instructions to the captain of the Sampson was that he was to reconnoitre, and he was cautioned that he was not to approach a vessel superior in force to his own. The noble lord (Lord Clarendon) said that these vessels were but post-cffice packets, and were too insignificant to be interfered with. I f an officer was not to in terfere w ith post-office packets or insignificant vessels , and was at the same time forbidden b y the admiral to a pp roach a vessel superior to his own, he (Lord Clanricarde) did not see what he was to do. He was, however, informed that these vessels were not so insignificant, and the offi cer said that they , " ranged under the batteries and cleared f or action. ' He said that the vessels did not take these vessels because they were in port, and he afterwards spoke of their being in an anchorage. They were in no port. If the promise given to Parliament was to be avoided by saying that when a vessel could run in shore it was to be safe, and that was to be called a port, this would be paltering and trifling with the sense of those to whom it was addressed. He believed that these vessels were of the same class as the Stromboli. The operation which they performed was a most import ant one, and he could not believe that if the admiral had had positive orders to employ the whole of his force to attack any Russian fleet that was found out of port, lie would have remained at anchorage in Beicos Bay, and have sent only two frigates, with orders not to attack a superior force, to the other end of the Black Sea, where the operations were being carried on. Fcom what they had heard to-day, it appeared that he was after effect. He could not but blame the Government that wards ready enough to make a move that should be of they should have used a menace to the Emperor of the Russians, and Russia which they were not fully and in every respect e ki l n a g tter in port, an opera prepared to carry out in a manner becoming the dignity, influence, and character of this country. We prevented eealotuttarhcfleet of which we seemed the t,ohni opera while w ei a r se k pp i s er h roffo fl ers e ms e ee t dd ftbroeo before o n er to have taken no notice. This was calculated to pro duce a very bad impression in the countries adjacent to the scow) of these operations. go had thought it nem. were acting under the instructions which had been sent to them ; and if the Russian vessels had not, acting on left to men like Admiral Dundas and Sir Edmund Lyons and that, at all events, the country until it obtains accu rate information will trust in their zeal, and will prefer a report made by Admiral Dundas to the leading article of a Russian newspaper. (Hear, hear.) The Marquis of CLANRICARDE said that he had been totally misrepresented by the noble earl. He told the noble earl that it was not of the officers, but it was of the Government—it was of the vacillation, the bom bast, and the uncertain and wavering conduct of the Government that be complained. He said that the Go vernment had no right to use the menace which they had done to the Emperor of Russia, unless they were prepared to give to the admirals and to the officers under their command instructions to carry it out. They had not given such instructions. In a former debate he (Lord Clanricarde) had said what the noble earl had said to-night, that you had no right to interfere with the communications of Russia before declaring war. In reply to him, the noble earl said :—" But my noble friend seems to complain that Russia was not allowed to transport her forces from one Russian port to another in the Black Sea." The noble earl (Lord Clarendon) complained that he should make any objection to such a hindrance, so determined was he that nothing of that sort should be permitted lest we should see enacted be fore our eyes another affair of Sinope—an affair which filled all men with indignation—which it was, perhaps, well for the Government happened while Parliament was not sitting, and the popular feeling excited by which had, he believed, caused the language of the Government to be stronger than it would otherwise have been—and to have remained passive spectators of the transport of Russian troops to Trebizond or the most distant ports of the Black Sea. Why, these were the very things of which he (Lord Clanricarde) warned them when they used their bombastic menace to the Emperor of Russia. He did not complain of the officers. He complained that the Government had threatened to do what they were not prepared to give their officers permission to do. Sir James Graham said in a speech, "Distinct orders have now been issued from the French and English Governments that no Russian ship of war shall be allowed to navigate the Black Sea, if the Eng lish and French force can prevent it." He (Lord Clan ricarde) said that that was not carried out. The noble earl had read a private letter. He (Lord Clanricarde) knew that it was known in the fleet that operations of this kind were about to be commenced, or had been commenced, on the eastern shore of the Black Sea when the two ships were despatched, and Admiral Dundas gave them the caution which had been referred to. Had he not given that cauticn, the officers would have at tacked, and probably would have sunk or destroyed the Russian vessels. This was a great military operation which the Government had promised to prevent—a pro mise which they ought not to have made unless they in tended to fulfil it. Admiral Dundas could with ease have prevented it, had he been allowed to do so. His observations were not, however, directed against him, but against the Government, nor were they founded upon the St. Petersburg Journal, except so far as related to the number of men. The complaint he had to make against the Government was the same as he made when they asked for half a year's double income tax to provide the:means for carrying on a war between England and Russia—viz., that they were not prepared to look the matter in the face when they ought to have done so. The Earl of HARD WICKE rose to express his opinion that his noble friend (the Marquis of Clanricarde) had not said a word to detract from the character of the offi cers. He understood him to complain of the manner in which certain statements made by the Government in Parliament had been carried out. He quite agreed with his noble friend opposite (the Earl of Clarendon) as to the necessity of abstaining from premature criticisms upon the character of the officers employed abroad, and upon their operations. He would only say of Captain Jones, that he knew him to be a tried officer who had recently greatly distinguished himself in the affair of Lagos, on the coast of Africa, and he believed that any thing that could be said of him must be in praise, not in blame. He (Lord Hardwicke) complained of the same thing of which his noble friend (Lord Clanricarde) and the country complained, from which the noble earl (Earl of Clarendon) had drawn off the attention of the house to statements in regard to the commanders in the Black Sea. He would call the attention of the house to some facts connected with the orders and instructions which they believed were given to the commanders in reference to the manner in which operations should be carried on before the declaration of war. If there was one thing more than another to which public attention was called, it was the statement of the instructions which it was supposed were given to Admiral Dundas, that every Russian vessel seen out of port was to be required to re turn to Sebastopol, or some other port ; and it was gene rally understood in the country that if this requisition were not complied with force would be used to compel submission. The Emperor of Russia complained of this as an injustice to himself—both to his people by a manifesto, and to the English Govdrnment through Baron Brunow. He complained that it was unjust to him that they should prevent his troops from acting on his own coasts, while they permitted the Turkish forces to do so ; and he put this forward in his manifesto as one of the causes of war. How was it, then, if the Go vernment had so far offended the Emperor, and thought it necessary to be so strong in their treatment of Russia, that they had not the courage to carry it out ? (Hear.) They had better have left alone a matter so irritating to the Russian Emperor than, after making a threat, have allowed a great military operation which relieved these forts, otherwise untable, and indefensible, and conveyed the troops to strengthen the forces of the Emperor of Russ a elsewhere, to be carried on before the face of a gallant officer like Captain Jones, who, if he had been allowed, could have prevented it. They ought either to have abstained from making such a threat, and to have tended more to conciliation, or, having made the threat, they ought to have carried it out in a vigorous, honest, and statesmanlike manner. The Duke of NEWCASTLE—At any rate I rejoice that this discussion has brought out two facts ; one that, whatever may have been the speech of the noble marquis (Clanricarde) as regards words, the meaning it seems was not to imply any charge against the officers of her Majesty's service. (Hear.) But I entirely deny the statement of my noble and gallant friend opposite (Lord Hardwicke). The speech of the noble marquis, at the beginning, was a charge against the officers (hear, hear) —and it was only towards the close of his speech that he made any observation which could at all be considered to be a charge against her Majesty's Govern ment. However, we now know what he means; and as emphatically as my noble friend just now denied the justice of any imputations against the officers in her Ma jesty's service connected with these transactions, I yen ture to deny the assertion of my noble and gallant friend opposite (Lord Hardwicke). What is it my noble and gallant friend means ? What did the noble marquis mean just now, when, pursuing a course of most extra ordinary irregularity, he not only got up to make a second speech, but had reserved certain extracts to make that speech after he had been replied to by my noble friend behind me (Lord Clarendon). He produced cer tain extracts—garbled extracts—with a view to prove a third charge which he made against her Majesty's Minis ters. Beginning by charging us with vacillation, and next with bombast, and having stated these two charges broadly in these words, he, by implication, made another, and a much more disgraceful one—namely, one of false hood —[Lord Clanricarde : No, no] —of falsehood. The noble marquis stated distinctly that the Government had made representations to this house as to instructions to Admiral Dundee, which instructions they had not given —and that he could prove it, as he attempted by such extracts as he read. My lords, I entirely deny that charge. There has been no misstatement on the part of the Government with regard to the instructions which were issued to Admiral Dundas. My noble friend at the head of the Foreign-office stated distinctly on more than one occasion what these instructions were. I say that these instructions were sent out, and these instructions have been literally acted upon. (Hear.) What these instructions were my noble and gallant friend opposite (Lord Hard wicke) did not much, though he did a little, misrepre sent. They were these :—After the unfortunate affair at Sinope—which, however deeply regretted by the Go vernment and the country, cannot be characterised as reflecting either upon the Government or upon the fleet in the manner represented by the noble mar quis—after the unfortunate affair at Sinope, it was the determination of her Majesty's Government, although not at that time feeling that we were arrived at a point at which we ought to discard every hope of the mainte nance of peace, that nevertheless it was our duty to take care, so far as human means could, that such an affair should not again occur. What was the course adopted, and what were the instructions sent? Instructions were immediately sent to the admiral of the fleet, to protect the Turkish territory and the Turkish flag ; and in so doing, and with the view of carrying out that object, that if any of our vessels met in any part of the Black Sea a Russian fleet, or Russian ships of war, they were to desire them—in terms no doubt such as my noble and gallant friend represents—to retreat into the nearest Russian port, and, which my noble friend has omitted to state, they were, if they refused to comply, to compel them by force to do so. These were the instructions sent out by the Government. These were the instruc tions which we told the house had been sent out. These were the instructions which were communi cated to the Russian Government, and which were known by them, and which were proved to have been known to them by the course which they took on that occa sion. (Hear, hear.) Is there any noble lord in this house—is there any man in the country—surely not my noble and gallant friend opposite—who would have called on the Government to give secret instructions to the fleet, before a declaration of war was made, to de stroy the Russian vessels I cannot believe for one moment, whatever party feelings of hostility to the Go vernment may exist, that there is any noble lord who, however he may wish to disgrace the Government, would wish to disgrace the country by such atransac tion. (Cheers.) I say these were the instruct ion s sent out. They were the instructions which the noble mar quis himself, in a spirit of hostility to the Government, on a former occasion condemned — not because they were too weak, not because they did no a t meeesai t td, he the ob ligations cast upon us, but because, s h Russian Government had the greatest reason to com plain of our having taken such steps before a ciclara tion of war. It was nothirg but the p eculiar .circuru stances of the case —the necess it y of defedding the Turkish territory and the Turkish flag---:shich could have justified so strong a measure. But tsat measure, strong as it was, was carried out in spirit and in letter. What took place on the occa sion to which the noble earl has just referred ? He regrets, no doubt, that we have been prevented from obtaining a. victory upon th e shores of Russia by destroying ti iese forts. Now the Russians bad destroyed thei▪ r own forts for us. I don't express any o pinion with regard to that. I regret it as much T a s he does. But as any rate th e object was accompl is hed. . Turkish flag an d th e Turkish territory were not m this i▪ nstance endangered. But the Russian ships, with guns on board seven of them, vessels of war or not, were seen. The officers a knowledge of those instructions, retreated into a Rus sian port, the officers, according to their instructions, would undoubtedly have compelled them to do so. (Cheers.) I cannot for one moment understand what is the charge against the Government, unless it be that in some particular manner we ought to have instructed our officers to destroy any Russian ships which they found afloat on the Black Sea which were not of sufficient strength to meet us, before the declaration of war, which entitles us now to take steps which our ships most un doubtedly will take. (Cheers.) The Earl of MALMESBURY—Notwithstanding the remarks of the noble duke, we shall continue to make criticisms on the conduct of the Government as long as we choose to make them, and whenever we choose to make the m . (H ear, and a laugh.) The noble duke seems to be astonished at the remarks of the noble mar quis, and seems to think that he had no right to make the remarks which he has made. In the remarks of my noble friend and the noble marquis I can see no attack upon any officers in her Majesty's service. My noble friend compl a i ne d t h at Capt. Jon had too literally obeyed his orders. Let me call your lordships' recollection to the time when these orders were given, and to the circum stances which attended their publication. It is of some consequence to remember the exact words used in the English instructions given to the English Admiral. The word used in those instructions is "required"—when the admiral meets a Russian ship in the Black Sea, he is to require such ship to return to the nearest Russian port. But what was the word used in the French instructions? The French admiral was to "constrain" the ship to return. (Hear, hear, and a laugh from the Duke of Argyll.) The noble duke seems to laugh at the distinc tion, and thinks it a distinction without a difference. He rather astonishes me, because I know he is a great purist in his language. I contend that there is a great difference between the meaning of the word " require" and the word " constrain" ; and, whatever the noble duke may think of the matter, the admirals them selves thought there was a material difference. (Hear, hear.) And the ambassadors thought there was a material difference in the meaning of the words, and that this difference might lead to some confusion with respect to their acting in the Black Sea. The noble duke, as a Cabinet Minister, must know that the ques tion was discussed as to which of the words was best to be acted upon, and whether force was to be employed, and to what extent. All this arose from what I believe to have been a great error, a great mistake ; and that was the challenge which you so publicly gave to the Russian Government, by going into Sebastopol and threatening to do what you could not do. (Hear hear.) I do not complain of the slackness of our officers. It was perhaps impossible for them to act in stormy weather in a sea so dangerous. You own yourselves that what you threatened to do could not be done. Surely, then, you had much better have refrained from saying anything on the subject. You had better have made a valid declara tion of war, or waited to have observed the Russian fleet with as much vigilance as the season and circumstances allowed, and without writing the presumptuous cartel that you sent to Sebastopol. (Hear.) You might surely have done that. But it was placing this country, and the officers who serve it, in a humiliating condition, to make such a boast at Sebastopol, and then put them into a false position, of the captain, who, with his hands tied, saw a great military operation with which he could not interfere. (Hear, hear.) We do sot say a word against the admirals or captains ; we say the mistake was made by the Government, and that they have made many others on this fatal question; and it was to that point that the noble marquis and my noble friend directed their obser vations. (Hear, hear.) The Duke of ARGYLL—I do not deny that there may be a difference between the two words to which the no ble earl has referred, and that there may be a certain force in the French word which is not implied in the Eng lish word; but I can assure him that the intimation given at St. Petersburg, and understood by the admirals, was that, if they met Russian men-of-war in the Black Sea, they were to be " required" to return to the nearest Rus sian port (hear)—but I am perfectly sure that the noble marquis did not intend to make any attack on the officers but that he intended to make a party attack on the Go vernment and nothing else. But what we. say is this — not that these observations are intended in the first place to attack the officers, but that, the position of the Go vernment being unassailable, they do attack the offi cers. In the case which has been referred to, I think the officers put a fair construction on the instructions of the Government, and carried them out. All the observations which have fallen from the noble lord, ultimately recoil upon the officers, because the question entirely turns upon the interpretation put upon the in structions by the officers. I conceive that the intima tion given to the Emperor of Russia has been entirely carried out. When directions were given that no ope rations would be allowed in the Black Sea, no doubt the intention was that Russian troops should be pre vented from going to Sebastopol, and other places to attack Turkey. I have no doubt that if Captain Jones had observed vessels coming out of Sebastopol he would have stopped them. But he did not see them until they were near another port. Since the instructions have been issued, the Russian fleet has never shown its nose out of Sebastopol, and no great operations have taken place. (Cheers.) Does the noble earl suppose that if it had not been for these instructions the Russian fleet would not have been out in the Black Sea, and very likely at Varna ? But nothing of the kind has been done. The noble marquis talks of the bombast of the Government ; and on a former night he said the Govern ment had been playing at the game of " I agree with him in condemning the game of " brag" by whom soever it is played. But there is a game of " brag" which has been_played, of which he seems to have a full knowledge, and that is Russian " brag," and if it is to find an echo in party spirit in your lordships' house, it is difficult to say where it will end. (Cheers.) TAXES ON LAW PROCEEDINGS. Lord BROUGHAM said as the discussion which had been going on seemed at last to have come to an end— (laughter)—he would take the opportunity of postponing until a future day his motion, which stood for Monday, relative to taxes on law proceedings. Their lordships then adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS—(YESTERDAY.) The SPEAKER took the chair at 4 o'clock. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The following bills were read a third time and passed : Nene Valley Drainage and Navigation ; Newcastle-upon- Tyne Docks; Perth and Dunkeld Railway; Whitehaven, Cleator, and Egremont Railway. Tho following bills were ordered to be considered : Hertford and Welwyn Junction Railway; North London Railway. NEW WRITS. On the motion of Mr. HAYTER, a new writ was ordered for Devonport in the room of Mr. Tufnell, who has accepted the office of steward of her Majesty's manor of Northstead. _ A new writ was also ordered for Hastings in the room of Mr. Brisco, who has accepted the office of steward of the Chiltern Hundreds. PETITIONS. Petitions were presented by Mr. Dunlop, from various places in Scotland, in favour of the Lord Advocate's Edu cation Bill; by Mr. Hume, from different places in Scot land, to the same effect. THE NEW BUDGET. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER gave notice that on Monday he should move certain resolutions iu committee of ways and means, and that a portion of these resolutions relating to the temporary supply for the public service would be printed and circulated on Monday morning. Mr. DISRAELI asked the right hon. gentleman what course he intended to pursue on Monday. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he must reserve his explanation for Monday, but he could state now that the course he should take would be strictly in accordance with precedent. THE CIVIL SERVICE. In reply to Mr. LABOUCHERE, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER stated that he had no intention of submitting to the house this session any measure for regulating the civil service, but Govern ment had in contemplation the introduction of a bill to amend the Superannuation Act, though they did not admit the claims of the civil service on this head. Mr. HUME said an idea prevailed that the civil service had not been heard, and he suggested that a committee for that purpose should be heard. (Hear, hear.) THE COMBINED FLEETS.--BOMBARDMENT OF ODESSA. In reply to Mr. FRENCH, Sir J. GRAHAM said the Government had received a telegraphic message this morning, which stated that on the 22d of April seven vessels of war of the combined fleets bombarded the outer mole of Odessa, and the Russian ships lying therein ; but that the utmost caution was used not to endanger private property or neutral vessels. (Hear, hear.) Also that they had completely succeeded in de stroying all the land batteries of the outer mole and all the ships in it, and after that the combined fleets had pro ceeded towards Sebastopol (as we understood). RUSSO-DUTCH LOAN. Lord D. STUART asked Lord J. Russell, whether, whilst this country is at war with Russia, it is the inten tion of Government to furnish the Czar with the means of carrying on the war against this country by issuing andatly s ums from the Bri tish Treasury towards the principal for the interest of the debt called the Russo-Dutch Loan, contracted to be paid in consideration of the Russian Go vernment adhering to the general arrangements of the treaty of Vienna, one of such general arrangements being that the n avigation of European rivers should be free. Lord J. RUSS ELL said it was the intention of the o vernment to adhere to this obligation. (Cheers.) ARMY PENSIONS. major WYNN drew the attention of the Secretary-at- War to the Royal warrant for rewarding non-commis sioned officers and soldiers in the army, dated the 13th day of April, 1804, and inquired w hy, when the term of service after which a private soldier becomes entitled to the good conduct medal and gratuity was reduced from twenty-one to eighteen years in the infantry, a cor responding reduction should not have been made in the term of service required from serjeants and corporals, and the period lessened of ten and seven years iu these grades required to entitle serjeants and corporals to receive the reward of their respective ranks ; also to in quire the reason why the annual grant to each regiment is made contingent on the numerical strength of the corporals and privates (denominated rank and file) and not )1.1 that of the corporals, privates, dry mmers, and serj cants, it being understood that the two last-named ranks participate fully as much iu these rewards as the two first. Mr. S. HERBERT defended the warrant, and said it was generally approved of by the army? PUBLIC BUSINESS. In reply to Mr. WALPOLE, Lord J. RUSSELL said it was impossible for him to say when the Oaths' Bill and other measures would be brought on until the financial statement had been dis posed of. GREEK INSURRECTION. Mr. COBDEN enquired of the noble lord, the member for the City of London, if Lord Stratford de Redcliffe was issue of by the Turkish Government relative to the of the edict expelling the Greeks from Turkey. Lord J. RITSSELL was not aware whether or no Lord Stratford do Radcliffe was consulted on the subject, but certainly he had used his influence with tke Porte to miti gate the severity of the proceedings that had or were to be taken against the resident Greeks of Turkey. Mr. BRIGHT reminded the noble lord that, shortly be fore the recess, he promised to lay on the table the papers relating to the Greek insurrection. Could the noble lord say when these papers might be expected? Lord J. RUSSELL said the papers were about ready, and they would be shortly forthcoming. COURSE OF PUBLIC BUSINESS. Lord J. RUSSELL moved that the standing order re• lative to the days on which the committees of supply and ways and means shall be fixed be repealed; and, also, that the committees of supply and ways and means shall be fixed for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and for any other day on which orders of the day shall have precedence of notices of motions ; that the said resolution be a stand ing order of this house. Mr. DISRAELI objected to this course as inconsistent with the public business. Mr. HUME hoped the proposition of the noble lord should be understood to apply only to the present session. After a few words from Sir G. GREY, The motion was agreed to. Lord J. RUSSELL gave notice, that on Monday he would move that Government orders of the day should take precedence of other orders on Thursday. ADDITIONAL NAVY ESTIMATES. The house went into a committee of supply upon the navy estimates. Sir J. GRAHAM said that it was now his duty to pro pose to the committee a considerable increase in the naval estimates already voted. They would remember that when he proposed the adoption of the former naval estimates the declaration of war had not taken place. Still, the state of public affairs at that moment was such that her Majesty's Government thought it expedient to propose a very consi derable augmentation in the number of seamen, and also a large addition to our naval forces. Circumstances were now materially changed, for war had actually been de clared. He thought that, for the purposes of this discus sion, he might make three assumptions which would not be considered by the house as either gratuitous or violent. Ho should assume in the first place that the war in which we are now engaged is a necessary war ; in the second. place, that war having been declared it is expedient to con duct it with vigour and energy in the hope of bringing it to a speedy and honourable conclusion ; and, lastly, that the servants of the Crown, in whomsoever it might be that that house should pl ace con fid ence , s h o uld as the executive be intrusted with the ad m i n i s t ra ti o n of the means voted by' t andedmre.esHtaevintghe house,thusshortly e psrhefeaulcedd proceed , a-hat he a w t a e s n a e b e ou vr t it tg the details of th e estimates. h The first vote which he increase of f w or age t s he of proposed to take was an addition of 461,7001. on ac countof W eu h r en n h av e al las f t er m c zle h a e pro positioniib. mit 'ed to the committee the policy of adding 10,000 men to the entire number of seamen afloat. He did not then anticipate that it would be possible to raise the entire increase proposed within the first six months, and he therefore laid before the house an estimate for an increase of 5,030 men for the whole period of twelve months, and for a further number of 5,000 men for the last six months of that time. Since war was declared — or rather since, in the opinion of the Government, war seemed to be quite inevitable—increased exertions had been made to levy the whole additional number of men sanctioned by Parliament within the shortest possible time ; and he had now the satis:aetion of stating to the committee that at the present time—that was within a month from the commencement of the financial year—the Government had been able to add 11,030 men to the navy. They had done this partly by acting upon a statute which gave the Executive Government power, when the services of the State required, to call upon the coast guard for a reserve of men to serve afloat. Of the additional 11,000 men, 2,500 bad been drawn from the coast guard ; while 8,500 had been raised by voluntary enlistment since the Ist March. He should, perhaps, in justice to his gallant friend the member for Gloucester (Admiral Berkeley), state that this success was in a great measure attributable to his efforts. The exertions of Capt. Henderson, the com mander of the coast guard, had been above all praise ; nor should he forget to mention that the services of a young officer, Commander Phillimore, who had visited every port in the kingdom, had also largely contributed to the favourable result he had announced. Something had been said with respect to the capability of the coast-guard to perform active service afloat. Now on that point he had the satisfaction of holding in his hand a letter from his friend Commodore Seymour to Admiral Napier, in which the former, speaking of the Baltic fleet, said : " My visits of inspection enable me to form an opinion of the qualities of the ships' complements. The masked superiority of the coastguard men, where they are in any numbers, over other portions of the ship's company a striking. They fill many of the highest of the petty officers' ratings, which without them it would be difficult to find properly qualified officers to fill. Taking them as a body, notwithstanding that some are verging beyond the prime of life, and that their vocation on the coast has robbed them of some of that quickness that should belong to men-of-war's men, they retain qualifications indispen sable to the efficiency of the fleet, and they are well-con ducted." (Hear, hear.) This was a most satisfactory statement, fulfilled the anticipations which he had formed, that the coastguard would in time of war be found a most efficient reserve for the navy. The first item of 110,0001. in the vote No. 1, was then accounted for in the way he had described, in order to meet the expense for twelve months of the 5,000 seamen whose wages had in the last estimates been taken for only six months. The next item of 51,7001. was in order to meet the extra pay given to the 2,500 coastguard men now employed in the fleet. There remained an item of 220,0001. for men, which was con nected with the question that it was most important for the committee to decide. He had now to propose that, in addition to the 100,000 sailors and 3,000 marines voted. in March last, the fleet should be further increased by 5,000 men. At this moment indeed the fleet was somewhat in excess of the entire number of seamen voted by the house, because the Government had been able to raise 11,000 in stead of 10,000 men. We had indeed now a large fleet of nineteen sail-of-the-line in or on its way to the Baltic, and we had also ten sail-of-the-line in the Black Sea. In no quarter of the world had the forces of the British navy been diminished to make this effort; but on the contrary an augmentation had taken place at some of the most dis tant stations. Still he thought it was not consistent with the honour and with the independent position of this great country that we should have so large a force exposed to the dangers of war, and to every kind of vicissitude on distant stations all over the world, without having also something like a reserve at home. He did not think the committee would be of opinion that an additional force of 4,000 men to complete the home reserve was an extravagant thing to ask for. (Cheers.) If the committee concurred in the opinion of tbe Government on this point, then, at the pre sent rate of wages, 220,0001. would be required to pay that additional force. There remained, in connection with this vote, to give some explanation of the course they proposed to pursue with regard to the officers and men who served. with Sir J. Franklin in the Arctic expedition. He had already stated that, considering no account of the officers and men serving in that expedition had been received for eight years, he thought the time was come when the payment of a double amount of pay to their relatives should cease. If, however, happily these gallant sea men should still be alive, the course now taken would be no bar to their claim when they arrived at home. Supposing them, however, to be lost, he thought the I public had acted most generously to their surviving relatives in giving them double pay for eight years. He, therefore, proposed to close that account on the let April last, and for this purpose to take a vote for 80,0001. The next vote was one necessarily contingent upon the pre ceding, for it related to the provision of victuals for the additional seamen and marines. The first item of 50,0001. related to the 5,000 men whose expenses had only been voted for six months, but had been actually incurred for twelve months. The last item of 100,00e1. was for the 5,000 additional men he was now asking the committee to vote. The intermediate sum of 50,0001 . required some ex planation. The vote in March List was taken upon the presumption that the cost of the principal articles of pro• visions would continue the same that it was then. Expe rience had, however, shown that this was not the case. He would take, as an illustration of the rise of price which had taken place, the single article of wheat. The natural price of wheat in the Mediterrane an was, generally speak i ing, considerably lower than in England; but the Russian 'bit e d the exportation of grain Government having prole. from the north coast Atha Black Sea, and the Neapolitan Government having t a ken a similar step with regard both to the ports of Na ples and of Sicily , —the natural granary of the Mediterranean—the price o f wheat and flour had risen considerably. And indeed, generally speaking, the extra demand for the prime necessaries of life consequent upon war had caused them to be rapidly rising in price ; and as he was most anxious tbat, as far as foresight could secure this result, these estimates should cover the entire cost of our naval forces for the ensuing year, he thought it was most prudent to take a vote of 50,000/. to cover the rise in price which had taken place. The next vote was only a small one ; it was for 5,000/. to provide for the additional expenses of the establishment at Whitehall and Somerset-house. The in. creased duty thrown upon the clerks at both these esta blishments since the declaration of war had been so over powering, that their attendance at the office had frequently been prolonged till nine o'clock at night. Of course it was utterly impossible that the clerks could be permanently worked in this manner ; and it was absolutely necessary to make some addition to their number. The next vote was one for 2,0001. to provide for the additional cost of her Majesty's establishments at home. This was required by the necessity of making additional provision at Hasler crease_l Hospital, and also by the in expense of some of the victualling establishments, where, on account of the trans port service, very onerous duties had been suddenly cast upon the employes. The next item was for a sum of 47,0001., for wages to artificers, &c., employed in the dock. yards. The Government had not thought it expedient while we wore yet on the threshold of war to add to our existing establishments for shipbuilding, and the general operations of the dockyard would continue much the same as before. Still, from the rise in the price of provisions, it was found that the rate of wages in the dockyards was no* inadequate as compared with the price of labour elsewhere. He had thought it more expedient to relax the fetters placed upon the earnings of the men employed, than to make an addition to their waves. They would now be Raid in proportion to the work they did, and not by day. The consequence was, that their earnings would be consider ably increased, and to cover this he proposed to take as additional vote of 50,000. The next item, which was a small one, related to Malta, the establishment at which place had been somewhat increased, in consequence of T h e large number of steamers which now repaired ther an d Th next vote was one for naval stores for the building 1. re pair of ships. The first item here was one of 160, tee for the purchase of fuel and coal for her Majess s the mp. sail of ling When the house remembered that, of the 19 in the Baltic, 13 bad the great advantage of ascrew_ants pro. peller ; and out of the whol e number 00 of 50 or pen dants now .' now in that sea, a large propor tion a cre a quantitere moved by s of steam, they would readily imagine hou quantity of coal was required, and how e xp ensive the supply of such p force must necessari ly *be. Wh e n they added to that that we were oblig ed to send a s u pp l y to the most distant sta tions, even to China and the Cape, where steamers were employed, they would see that the expense under this head must be very great- Still he was convinced that, when they regarded the efficiency of the public service, it was true economy to expend this large sans of money upon coal; for not only did the employment of steam power enable a given service to be performed by a numerically smaller force, but it secured its performance in a better manner. The next item was one of 252,6714. for the purchase and repair of steam machinery. This expenditure was ran. dered necessary by the efforts which the Admiralty were now making to apply that power, which experience had proved indispensable, to all the ships of the now con' struction, as they were launched. The house ap peared, too, to be of opinion that it was expedient to have a reserved force at home, and the Government had come to the conclusion that all the vessels of that fleet should he furnished with steam power. Mei 'raid,