The Sun. — London, England, 1854-12-21 00:00:00

irtirb Zbition, SUN OFFICE, Seven o'Clock. TATTERSALL'S. (THIS EVENING.) DERBY. 10 to 1 on the field. 11 to 1 aget St. Hubert (taken). 18 to 1 aget Oulston (offered). sto 4on Rifleman apt Onleton. WALTHAM RACES. (THIS DAY.) (BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH•) HURDLE RACE. Odiham Banstead SELLING PLATE. Firebrand Alma SELLING HURDLE. A1p.... ..... ........... M 0r0n i..................................... Won easy. STIEPLZCHABI.—Off L.MTERIAL PARLIAMENT HOUSE OF LORDS.—(THIS EVENING.) The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack ►t five o'clock. Lord DENMAN took the oaths and his seat. Lord MONTEAGLE gave notice that tomorrow he Would move for certain returns relating to Exchequer bonds. Lord WYNFORD put a question to her Majesty's Government respecting the occupation of the barracks at Dorchester by convict 3, to the prejudice of the militia there assembled for training. The Duke of NEWCASTLE said that the cause that led to the occupation of the barracks at Dorchester, was the fact that the cholera raged with great violence at Millbank; it was therefore thought necessary to order the convicts to Dorchester. He was happy to say giat the cause that bad led to the occupati' m had ceased, and orders had been given for the i'''..;moval of the convicts. That removal had taken Pikce, with the exception of eight or ten, who were kept there for the purpose of cleaning up the barracks. The Marquis of SALISBURY asked a question with respect to the blockade of the Black Sea and the Baltic. The Duke of NEWCASTLE protested against answer ing questions of which previous notice had not been given. He did not feel disposed to answer questions in which the Government of France was concerncd as well as ourselves. If the noble marquis gave proper notice of his question, some member of her Majesty's Govern ment would be ready to answer it. The Earl of ELL - ENBOROUGH and the Earl of DERBY thought that the • question put by the noble marquis was by no means unreasonable. The Earl of Derby proceeded, at considerable length, when tae was interrupted by Earl GRANVILLE, who rose to order. _ _ icieiail7)lliEßßlt said he should give notice that 'he would bring the whole subject under their lordships consideration on a future day. THE MILITIA BILL. The Duke of NEWCASTLE then rose to move the supension of the standing orders, in order to their being dispensed with, to enable their lordships to read this bill a second time. The noble duke then entered at some length into the objects of the bill. He said that this bill differed materially from other bills that had been passed for the same purpose. (Hear.) By this bill the voluntary consent of every man was absolutely required before he could be sent out of Eng 12.nd. An alteration had been made in the bill, limiting the period of enlistment for the militia to five years. Since the circular appeared requiring recruits from the militia for the regular army the number that had entered up to the present time was about 5,000, irrespective of those who had entered without the consent of their superior offs eers. But if circumstances were taken into considera it - tion, the number would be increased to about 7,000. With respect to the 'standard for the militia, it had been reduced from 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 4 3 / 4 inches, and very latterly it had been further reduced to 5 feet 4 makes, that being the standard during the whole of the Peninsular war ; and he had seen a letter from his noble friend the Commander.in-Chiet, deprecating any further reduction. The noble duke 'having alluded to the bounty, went on to say that the per cent, recruitment from the militia regiments would not be sufficient to make up the deficiency caused in the regular army, and he did hope that any person in this house, or in the country, would not try to throw any impediment in the way of the enlistment, for, to a large extent, from the public must the Government look to enable the country t. meet the demands made upon it. The noble duke con cluded by moving the second reading of the bill. The Earl of DERBY rose, and was [LEFT SPEAKING.] HOUSE OF COMMONS.—(THIS EVENIN G The SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock. Mr. A. PELLATT presented a petition from a hackney carriage and omnibus proprietor named Crosbey, complain jag of the excessive duty charged on stage coaches, and praying that it may be reduced. EMIGRATION SHIPS. Mr. •T. O'CONNELL wished to ask if any correspondence had taken place between her Majesty's Government and that of the United States, with a view to concerting effec tive regulations for securing the good treatment of passen gers in passenger ships plying between the two countries ; and further, if it be intended to bring in any measure founded upon the other recommendations of the Emigrant ShiN' Committee of last session ? Mr. F. PEEL said some correspondence had passed with the Government of Washington, but principally with the object of ascertaining in what state emigrant vessels arrive in the United States. It was the intention of the Govern ment to introduce a bill founded on the recommendations of the committee over which the bon. member had presided. DUBLIN HOUSE OF INDUSTRY. Mr. T. SCULLY asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland, whether his attention had been directed to the investiga tion lately held at the Dublin House of Industry by order of the Irish Poor 'Law Commissioners; and to the practi cal inconveniences arising from the order made on the 9th day of September last by the governor of that institution ? Sir T. YOUNG said his attention had been directed to the investigation ; but he had only received the report within the last few days. That report was now under the consideration of the Government with a view to the re moval of the practical inconveniences complained of. MAGISTRACY OF IRELAND. Mr. HIGGLNS asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether a statement in some of the newspapers b e well founded, that the Government have sot on foot a re vision of the list of persons holding the commission of the peace in Ireland ; and if so, upon what principle such re vision is regulated ; and if he would lay before the house any rules or orders issued for its conduct ; also to inquire whether such revision is to include stipendiary magistrates, and, whether it be the intention of Government, as vacan cies hereafter occur in the latter office, 4 o avail themselves of such opportunities for reducing the number in districts -where the unpaid magistracy are adequate to the adminis tration of justice ? Sir. J. YOUNG said the statement was well-founded, but he was net able to give any precise information as to the rules and orders which had been issued for con ducting the inquiry. With regard to the second question, the revision would not include the stipendiary magistrates, though it was undoubtedly the intention to keep down the number of stipendiary magistrates as much as possible, consisten t with the interest and wants of the country. ENLISTMENT OF FOREIGNERS BILL. ADJOURNED DEBATE. On the order of the day for resuming the adjourned de bate on this bill, Mr. CONOLLY rose and said he was anxious to say a few words upon the subject of this ungracious subject, which he consid ered to 1..)e a disgrace to this country. The foreign mercenaries proposed to be added to our gallant soldiers in the East were not the men to cheer the spirits of our men. He would ask the Go vernment what they thought when they found men of liberal sentiments opposing the measure of _e p to which they belonged. It showed to him that th e Qovernment had no faith in the bill, and he was further confirmed in this opinion by the very pitiable defence which was made in favour of the measure. He warned the Government against the eonrae they were pursuing, asthe tire would come when they must pass a most searching scrutiny upon the course which they had pursued throughout the war. He charged them with having doled out remittances for the war with a niggardly spirit to our troops in the East. This question was not opposed upon a spirit of p a rty jealousy in this house, but the opposi tion was based upon the general feeling of the country, for if there was one feeling more strongly implanted in the "mast of an Englishman than another, it was hisobjection to • "mash. of being introduced into this country, and more "P e6 an h t The el wen hose were a party of foreign mercenaries. pitiable e " nar e i weeete . be denounced as one of a most miserable and the opi ne) , , and one that would tend to lower us in not. not only of our allies, but of those who were inoo .fdr a - si C eten oL cy LlLllthonglat they should not be taxed with A question a naZ,r ting the Government. It was not ~,,,,e e nough font eta ,,, iu ta t t t e a r tbatr ow affording support. It that the Government trod them it was troops should be, " dati4 t o , l necessity and that these b ear d much from the c, .meet _ it. He had many brillilnt speeches, h ut he tion, much wit and them that vre had any twee 1 1 :41 not heard from trained troops which Russia eee i d ,2 1 . 00 t the many The Government told them that, bring into the field. and Government possessed, h e he 4 forces were d w o er im e w , e i n n t f e o c r l„ . motion that they did not feel jnatifuxi lie, but doubtless had learnt f rom %Irking pub _ that such a force was necessary-; -and he wouldn r e t Ra glan responsibility of refusing his vote upon such an co rur the did sot look upon it as any reproach to us that we :en; h e possessed of such large forces as foreign despot." as we were now in a state of transit ion, and that, he thought, relieved us from any reproac h of not being snit: cienily prepared in numbers with those itho were not in a t .. similar state of transition. Much had been said about •-• lAugingNipon na the obloquy of Russia by th e ...-...„-- .. ,;I , ed course, but he thought that the absence of a ... ‘ . k . " . %.. , a L.,,'".. letva would be a much greater one, and he again ~ ti:,- ~ 1,, , ,- ,- 1:6116v/wild not incur the responsibility of re. t o crisktglriekte Us Government to obtain that which they ti :„..„„ s it • •:. I v ...., ,•,........- /MI - f- d —s A .7 \ T. , TUE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 21, 1854. assured the house was absolutely necessary to prosecute the war with due effect. Mr. NEWDEGATE had heard much about the nacos sity of this measure, and the able troops that we proposed to engage, but [not one word had yet been heard about what the forces were, or what their character was— whether they were well armed troops or not, or such as we might place that confidence in them tha t . the occasion called for, and he warned them that Rnssia w . as, of all Powers in the world, the bests ept in raising discoFd and unpractised mutiny amongst Powers oppo to her, if she obtained a a h n e y ar) ad —and then he chance,to obtain would ask, what was to be our security that such a andsuchw°and end—(lHeaeva7, band as we propcsed to raise would be faithful to their engagement? W e had plenty of resources, not only at home, but in our Indian possessions, that might in a very few months be made available for any service in the Crimea, and it was under these circumstances that he should give his most strenuous opposition to the bill. Mr. FRESHFIELD thought the British force in India might be be tter employed, not i n th e C r i mea , but in other places, against Russia, but he suggested that the whole subject of this bill had been exhausted. Technically there was no objection to this bill, and after the debate of yes terday. and the night b e f ore it was ti me th e bill had got into committee, now that its principle had been affirmed by the majority of the house. Continuing this debate might lead to an adjournment beyond Tuesday next, which was not desirable ; and he therefore entreated the house to cease talking and go to work on the bill in committee. He supported the bill because he felt that our noble fellow countrymen and allies in the Crimea were entitled to some immediate relief. We desire I peace ; but still we would not ask it—we would endeavour to extort it. Mr. MULLINGS knew not whether the subject of this bill had been exhausted in the house, but this he did know that the country was of opinion that it had not yet been sufficiently discussed. The noble lord thelPresident of the Council had threatened toresign if this bill were not passed; but, considering that the noble lord during the last two ses sions had held out a similar threat, he thought but little weight was to be attached to it. The noble lord was too discreet a politician to go to a country upon a measure like this, and he, though a humble member, had no hesi tation in recommending the house still to reject this mea sure, and turn its attention to reforming the recruiting of our own army, which was based upon a system that was radically bad. Mr. DISRAELI said there was no wish on his side of the house to throw any obstacle on the progress of public business, or improperly to obstruct the passing of this measure. That was proved by the readiness with which the Opposition had allowed the division on the second reading to be taken ; and under the circumstances, con sidering that as yet the subject had not been sufficiently debated, he suggested that they should go into committee at once, and resume the discussion on the third reading. Lord J. RUSSELL had no reason to complain of the course which the Opposition had taken with regard to this bill, while he thought the recommendation of the right hon. gentleman was a perfectly fair one. Mr. PACKE appealed to the Government to limit the duration of the bill to some definite time, because the country had been afforded no opportunity for considering its principle, or pronouncing an opinion upon it. Mr. BRIGHT observed that his hon. friend the mem ber for the West Riding had given notice of his inten tion to go into the general question of the war when the report was brought up. Now, it might so happen that there would be no amendments to the bill, and then the bill would be reported forthwith, while mem bers would be precluded from going beyond the scope of the bill on the question for the third read ing. He trusted, however, that as his h o nourable friend would have to comment rather stro n g l y upon the policy of the Government, there would be no objection to his speak ing a little wide of the subject of the bill. (Hear, and a langh.) Lord J. RUSSELL said there would be no objection on his part. (Hear, hear.) The house then went into committee on the bill. Upon clause 1 being put, Mr. L. KING moved the following proviso—" That no contract tin ith foreign soldiers shall be lawful under the provisions of which this country shall be liable for any payments, excepting to officers disabled by wounds, to continue beyond the period of one year after the ratifica tion of a definitive treaty of peace." Mr. S. HERBERT said that it was not the intention of the Government to give pensions, but merely half-pay to those who were wounded, and also to the widows, and he begged of the hon. gentleman to withdraw his proviso. [LEFT SITTING IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT HOUSE OF COMMONS—(YESTERDAY.) ENLISTMENT OF FOREIGNERS BILL. Mr. RICH said that, though he had voted the night before in support of the bill, he wished to guard him self against being supposed to have voted in favour o the empleyment of foreign troops as mere mercenaries, (Hear.) He was not prepared to admit that the Ger mans who had been spoken of as likely to enter our ser vice—those Germans, he meant, who, having obtained letters of denaturalisation from their own Sovereigns, came over here with a view of emigrating to Canada, Australia, or the United States—wherever, in fact, they could get for the least money—would make good and efficient soldiers—(hear, hear)—and coupling this with the language held last night by the Secretary at War and the noble lord the member for Tiverton, he was in clined to think that the views of the Government were not confined to such men as these, but that they had in contemplation some means which they did not reveal of obtaining valuable and efficient troops, animated by the same ie s eeet of resistance to the ambitious designs of Russia as were the troops of France and England. Mr. DRUMMOND—T. think, perhap,, it is an act at charity for some person to rise and protect the Govern. ment from their own supporters—(laughter)—for really sir, no bomb that ever arrived at Sebastopol can have made a greater explosion than this shot frsm behind, informing her Majesty's Government that upon this vital question of the war, every single department in it, from the Ordnance to the Commander-in-Chief, is in the hands of that part of the Ministry in which it ought not to be. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) Mr. RICH said, he made no such observation. Mr. DRUMMOND—WeII, well, sir—her Majesty's Government have got the numbers on their side, and they are wise enough to care very little about the ar guments. I was exceedingly sorry, sir, to vote as I did last night. I think her Majesty's Ministers have done themselves wrong. The fact is that the country look upon this bill as very much like what they call at Newmarket a " dark horse." (Laughter.) There is a suspicion, sir, that all is not fair and proper about it. (Opposition cheers.) I have heard insinua tions—some were made last night by the hon. gentle man who moved the amendment, but I will not repeat them, for I really do not know, and, indeed, I can't know whether they are well founded or not ; but of this. I am certain, from the language used to myself by every person to whom I have spoken on the subject, and I may say chiefly by friends of her Majesty's Government, that there is an idea that some ulterior measure is con cealed behind. (Hear.) That is the expression used by the hon. member who spoke last, and this, I say, is not fair dealing. (Hear.) The country has been taken en tirely by surprise by this measure. (Hear.) There are meetings holding, I know, at this moment, and others in contemplation in the country, and I believe from what I gathered last night from the very contradictory speeches which were made, that there is great jealousy existing on the subject. But the country has a right to know, freely and fairly, what you are going to do. (Hear.) Now, I think all that has been said about its being unconstitutional to employ foreign troops is down right trash. (Ministerial cheers.) If this be a bona fide measure for taking into our pay 30,000—0 r any number of thousands you please—of lawial troops, it will have my most cordial support. (Hear.) Suppose, for instance, the King of Bavaria were to say, "Here, I have got 30,000 men ; I cannot pay them, but you may ;" if you like to confederate 'with him, and send them to Sebas topol, then I say, send them by all means. But, sir, from what I collected, this is a totally different descrip• tien of agent which you are going to employ, and one about which I have a strong and very conscientious ob jection. (Hear, hear.) The profession of arms is a most honourable profession—(hear)--and, I believe, brings out the best qualities, moral and physical, which characterise man, better than any other pro fession. Regular soldiers never go into action, they are never carried to deeds of violence, except at the bid- Bing of their Sovereign, in defence of the weak and oppressed or for the protection of their country ; but when you come to hire mercenaries who have no sove reign over them, no country to protect, and no one ennobling sentiment in them, that is what degrades the military profession. (Hear, hear.) These men are nothing but men-butchers ; they fight and murder for a shilling a day, and, of coarse, if anybody will give them 2s. a day they will turn round and murder you in tarn. (Hear, hear.) And why should they not! I see tleat, by this bill, yon propose that these men should take an oath, not of allegiance exactly, but of fidelity. Fidelity to what ?—to a shilling a day. (Hear, hear.) But is not fidelity to 2s. a day a very much better thing ? " A saint in crape is twice a saint in lawn." (Laughter.) I say this is a most dishonourable mode of warfare. (Cheers.) It was because I could not make out from the contradictory speeches of the members of the Government which of these two forces it is they in tend to employ, that I voted against the bill last night. I am not against the employment of foreign troops, but I think it was exceedingly unfair to say that, if we do not swallow this measure before the country has time to form its opinion upon it, we are to be threatened with the withdrawal of the great Duke of Newcastle. (Hear and laughter.) Why, sir, it's something like the old maiden lady in the comedy, who lived with the poor gentleman, and who pretty nearly bored him to death by perpetually threatening him, " If you do not do as I bid you, I will withdraw from you the protection of the Hon. Lucretia M`Tab." (Loud laughter.) There aro certain members of her Majesty's Government whom I should be exceedingly sorry to lose, but I confess I should not greatly grieve if the Duke of Newcastle were to take his departure. (Cheers and laughter) I should not think they would go into mourning for the event in our camp before Sebastopol—(hear, hear) —though, pos sibly, the Emperor of Russia might receive the news with sorrow. (Laughter.) Somebody else, I should think, might be found who would have taken care that our horses should not have kicked one another to death in their transports ; who would have seen that the offi cers should have had a chance of linen before this time ; that officers and men should not have had their clothes rotting off their backs ; and that some means or another should have been discovered by which the things which were sent out from this country with a liberal spirit should have got some time or other into the hands of the persons for whom they were intended. (Hear.) But this wonderful problem, haw to get a thing from one I nof the Duke of Ne'v -a tie. (Leigh ter ) Ido not place to another ii evident , far beyond the comprehen thuk they() can be . such hurry as has been repre : sivete—nrtnindvi,enialtinwdnoitlthh,edrioestpfu,prtrealnYarn inclined to hope that the Go \ dispute s b t o h u e t t m he easure, but will postpone l day—but at least post- pone it until the country has had time to become ac quainted with it. (Cheers.) Sir W. VERNER, as an old officer of long experience, was persuaded that nothing could be more unsatisfactory than the proposed employment of mercenary troops by this country. Mr. OTWAY said that, having voted against the second reading of this bill, he wished to state the reasons why he opposed the measure. He should be sorry to impede the sending out of reinforcements to our gallant army in the Crimea, but he believed that we had other sources in important parts in our ewn empire that could be made earlier available for affording help to that army than the means offered by this bill. He had seen from the newspapers that the Sheik and Ghoorka regiments in India, who were especially adapted for this service, were ready to volunteer for the Crimea. The East India Company obtained powers last session for largely in creasing their force of Europeans, and he believed that they were now carrying those powers into effect. In telligence had been received that a treaty of peace had been entered into with the sovereign of Burmah ; and, India being now in a state of perfect tranquillity, we might obtain effective reinforcements from that quarter before the foreign troops to be raised under this bill could be organised and sent out to the seat of war. He like wise objected to the class of men contemplated by this measure. Having had the good fortune to witness the efficiency of many German regiments in the field, he would be the last man to underrate their capabilities. He believed that Germon troops, led by their own offi cers, fighting under their own standard, and animated by the traditions of their military history, would perform feats of valour second to none in the annals of the world. But he had no confidence in German emigrants. The Secretary at War had told them that these emigrants would be trained soldiers, but Prussia was the only Ger man State where every man was of necessity a soldier ; and of his own knowledge he could state that in some of the minor principalities and small duchies this was not the case ; so that we really could not have that secu rity as to the quality of these men that had been held out to us. It was quite true that foreign troops had served with our army in the last war, but it should be remembered that among those foreign troops there was only one regiment which did not sympathise with the cause in which we were engaged. He alluded to the Greek regiment ; aid what was its conduct ? Being stationed at Malta, it revolted and seized pos session of one of the forts, from which it cost us a great deal of trouble to dislodge it. If the Government had declared it to be their intention to form a Polish legion with its own officers, he would gladly have sup ported them. If we landed a body of Poles to-morrow in the Crimea, with their own officers, he believed that great numbers would desert from the Russians, and a great moral effect would be produced from which this country would derive much benefit. He understood that a letter had been written containing an offer from certain Polish prisoners that were detained in our ports to enlist in our service as soldiers and sailors to oppose our enemy, instead of remaining inactive and a burden upon the people of this country. If this story were true, it showed what was the spirit of the Poles, and how we might make them of use in this war. He was convinced that the great question at issue in this contest would never be solved until the cause of Poland was brought before that house, and with that subject he was sure the Government would have sooner or later to deal. But he wished to ask where these foreign troops were to be sta tioned? Were they to be billeted on the inhabitants of this country or stationed in our dockyards ? Supposing theta not to be encamped, but to be sent to our strong places, to Portsmouth, Plymouth, Sheerness, or Chatham, would not such a step be attended with danger I Look at the class of men of whom they were speaking S They had no feeling or enthusiasm in the cause, but came here, as the hon. member for Surrey had said, to under take to murder for a shilling par day. Now, with the numerous Russian agents that were in this country and at the Courts of all the petty German princes, nothing could be easier than for these Russian agents to get 20 or 30 of these men for a certain sum of money, and send them over to England as emigrants to enlist in the proposed mercenary legion. And what would be the result ? Why they may do irreparable damage in our dockyards and arsenals. (Hear, hear.) This, there• fore, was a point worthy of attention, and the house should require information from the Government upon it. It was impossible to separate this measure from the conduct of the war hitherto. He admitted that we could not expect to enter into a great war with a peace establishment without making many mistakes of detail, but he could not refrain from noticing the want of ordi nary precaution shown by some departments of the pub lic service. At this time last year Ministers must have known that there was every probability of a war with Russia. Hurried attempts were being made at our dockyards to fit out our fleets for service ; and when hon. members asked why a particular class of vessels was not sent to a particular quarter, the answer of the First Lord of the Admiralty was, that we had not the men nor the gun-boats that were required. Well, but at that particular conjuncture, 12 months ago, when preparations were so urgent, we actually turned our own vessels out of dock and admitted two Russian ships, which were there armed and sent to sea. This was surely bad enough, but what followed he should think must have caused some remorse to the First Lord of the Admiralty. The Aurora having taken refuge in the harbour of Petropaulovski, in the unfortunate ac tion which took place there a short time ago, he found that the damage done to a portion of our navy was done by that very Russian ship which we allowed to escape from our hands in the way he had stated. hear.) The right hon. member for Buckingham shire referred last night to Thncyclidee ; bat England had produced a historian not second to that classic writer whose name was immortalised by his history of the decline and fall of a great empire. Some of the pages of that philosophic writer he would commend to the at tention of her Majesty's Ministers, and more especially those in which, speaking of the statesmen who by their pusillanimity accelerated the fall of the Roman Empire, he said that crafty Ministers substituted temporary ex pedients fir salutary counsels. He could not but view the present bill as a mere temporary expedient. Why were the Government net prepared to mention the name of Poland, and to rally round them those who were ready to assist in the struggle ! Why did they not call upon men above 30 years of age, and tell them of the need for their exertions ? Let them raise the bounty if that were necessary, and offer every inducement to the country to come forward and fight their battles, and then, no doubt, we should win other victories equal to (for it was impossible to surpass) those of Alma and In kerman, which would lead to an honourable and lasting peace. (Hear, hear.) Mr. WHITESIDE said the" had listened with some attention to the speech of the honourable mem ber for Richmond (Mr. Rich), who belonged to that rising party in the country who spoke one way and voted another. (Hear, hear.) That hon. member was of opinion that the Ministry might be advantageously reconstructed, and possibly the hon. gentleman might himself be induced to assist in that work. (A laugh.) He trusted that the sound views expressed by the hon. gentleman would prove satisfactory to his own con science and to his constituents. Three speakers had addressed the house on the part of the Government—the Lord President, the Home Secretary, and the Secretary at War ; and he hoped the house would permit him to make a few observations on the arguments which those eminent statesmen had submitted to the British Parlia ment, summoned together at that unseasonable period of the year, on a great and important question. The noble lord (J. Russell) gave them, as was his wont, a disquisition on the balance of power—a very ticklish and delicate ground on which to tread at the commence ment of the war. This doctrine of the balance of power was subject to many limitations when understood, not merely as it was viewed by writers and thinkers, but as it was viewed by the common sense of mankind. It was subject, for instance, to this limitation—that we must, at the earliest moment we discovered the designs of a Power threatening to disturb the equilibrium, express ourselves to that Power with decision and firmness, and point out to it, before resorting to the last alternative, in plain and unmistakeable language, the object and policy we were about to pursue. We must prove to hlm, said the writers on public law, that he wanted to d dictat ecoarseon e this, hw l i s a h, laws h and to an the seeing a n no b i l n e dl himoepr d e n p d os e ti n ni t tl d S p t eo a ru t s t e e: we r a ei n nm d g having must tn then have recourse to arms. This argument was used by the noble lord, although there had been in the posses. sion of Lord Aberdeen, the head of the Government, since the year 1844, a document plainly indicating what the intentions of the Czar were with regard to Turkey, and a system of secret negotiation and diplomacy between the Ministers of this country and Russia had afterwards taken place on the same subject. Again, this balance of power received a severe shock on the partition of Poland, with respect to which Mr. Burke left his *pi nion on record that if there had been an English states man of spirit, capacity, and courage to speak out the sense of England, that horrible transaction would never have been perpetrated by the Imperial conspirator. The balance of power, then, when such a wicked crime was permitted, was a dangerous argument to use. Let them place this contest on the ground of self-interest—on the ground intelligible to all, that the Emperor sought to strike a blow at our interests—and then everybody would recognise the wisdom of endeavouring to . check his d!)- signs. Were hon. gentlemen wrong in objecting to this bill, which, in its original form, was as mischievous as any measure aver invented by a weak and incompetent Ministry ? Why, it would have enabled the Government, if they had thought fit to employ th ese mercenaries,. to take the hon. gentleman who sat b efore him to prison. How did a measure of that kind wor k in Italy ? When he was at Naples he saw a body of 11,000 Swiss troops at a review—an effective body of men collected from ano ther country, who cared nothing for the Neapolitan peo ple, but were hired to crush their liberties. It was by the aid of these very persons that the Sovereign of Naples t w o as eo e m na m b i l t ed th t o o se de d g e r e a d d s e w a h n i d eh tr chequer had so justly portrayed in his able p amphl, tahnitspCl trample c h e i which would b e rem embered after his budge ts were subjects,for or of the and to Eets s d. gotten. (A laugh.) His Holiness the Pope, also made use of S wiss troops to ca r r y out his system. Mass imo Aze g ho, the elder, in his excellent works, admirably p o inted out how the employment of mercenary troops by any nation must assuredly enervate and corrupt its own people, and sow the seeds of anarchy and decay. So it ever bad been and i ever must be. But it was said, " What a silly thing t 17 , to object to for e ign troops coming to thi s countr y ! Why, Onelow, the Speaker of the House about a century ago—in Ifli6—on presenting the Money Bills to the King, addressed his Majesty on a similar occasion to the present, in these words : " They bog leave most humbly to say, they hope the sword you have so bravely drawn, and they so eflectually supported, will be intrusted only in brave , capable, and honest hands, that so the naval, th e natural strength of England, will make a figure, will do service, as much greater as it is exalted higher than ever before. . • • Though ever attached to your Majesty's persou, they can not forbear taking notice of some circumatances in the pre- sent situation of affairs which nothing but the confidence j in your justice, your love to the people devoted to you, I could hinder from alarming their most serious apprehen sions. An army of foreign troops—a thing unprecedented, unheard of, unknown —brought into England, causes but alarm. They hope their fears may be removed as soon as possible, and, in the meantime, that the sword of these foreigners should not be intrusted a moment out of your own hand to any other person whatsoever." (Hear.) The Secretary of State for the War Department said that the Queen might employ any troops she pleased out cf the country ; but, as Parliament had to pay such troops, Parliament practically was enabled to check ' such a proceeding. He was aware that if they could show that there was an overpowering necessity for it, it would net be necessary to adduce a precedent for a bill of this kind ; but what were the three acts of Parlia ment which had been cited as justifying the present pro position? The act of 1794 was a remarkable example of the jealous care with which their predecessors watched over the liberties of the country while aiding the Crown in its difficulties. The act of the 34th of George 111., chap. 42, sec. 43, was entitled, " An act to enable sub jects of France to enlist as soldiers in regiments to serve on the continent of Europe and in certain other places, and to enable his Majesty to grant commissions," &c. ; and it recited that, - - " Whereas, durin g the present w ar b e t wee n Great Britain and Franc e, it may he expedient to raise regiments to serve on the continent of Europe, or in the dominions of his late Most Christian Majesty, and to enlist as soldiers in such regiments such persons, who were subjects of his late Most Christian Majesty, as shall be willing to enlist themselves in his Majesty's service; and to enable a cer tain number of thorn to serve and receive pay as officers in such regiments, and as en g ineers, under restrictions : Be it enacted, that it shall be lawful for such persons, who were subjects of his late Most Christian Majesty, as shall be willing to serve his Majesty to enlist as soldiers and to accept commissions from his Majesty (which com missions it shall be lawful for his Majesty to grant) to serve as officers, or as engineers, in any part of the continent of Europe, or in the islands of Guernsey, &e., or in any part of the dominions of his late Most Christian Majesty. Provided, that no such officer or soldier shall be enabled by this act to serve as an officer, or engineer, or soldier in any place except on the continent of Europe, or in any of the islands of Guernsey, &c., or in any part of the dominions of his late Most Christian Majesty. Pro vided further, that, in case it shall be deemed necessary or expedient to bring any such troops as aforesaid to any part or place in Great Britain for the purpose of rendezvous, or with a view to operations abroad, and it shall be deemed necessary or expedient to land such troops in any part of Great Britain for health or exercise, it shall be lawful so to do. Provided that such troops so landed shall not be marched into the country to any distance greater than five miles from the seacoast. Provided also that notice of land ing such troops shall within 14 days of such landing be given to both Houses of Parliament, if Parliament shall then be assembled ; and, if not, within 14 days after the then next meeting of Parliament. Provided also, that there never shall be at any one time within this kingdom a greater number of persons who shall have been enlisted under the authority of this act than 5,000 men." (Hear, hear.) The second act which had beeen referred to as a precedent was the 44th of George 111., chap. 75, which recited : " Whereas it hath been deemed expedient by his Ma jesty, in order to provide in the speediest manner for the better defence and greater security of the United Kingdom in the present important juncture of affairs, to permit cer tain foreigners now in Great Britain to enlist as soldiers into his Majesty's service, and, for the better disciplining such soldiers, to form them into regiments, and to grant co mmissions to certain foreign officers acquainted with their manners and language ; and it was provided that there should never be more than 10,000 men in the kingdom." The remaining act was the 54th of George 111. ; and he defied the Secretary at War to show that it autho rised the Government to bring into this country foreign troops to be drilled and instructed, and kept here as long as' the Government thought fit before being sent abroad, and then to have their places supplied by others. The act of 1813 gave no power whatever to drill these troops in England. Well, all these references showed that there was no precedent for this measure in the past legislation of Parliament. Was there any sup port for it, then, in the principles of the constitution ! The profound, sagacious, and patriotic 'men who settled the principles of the constitution always contended for the great and fundamental maxim that the army should consist of the same body as the people, that they might have the same spirit as animated the people. Mr. Grey and every eminent authority among the Whigs, when the Whigs had a party, invariably taught—though the Secretary at War might deride their teaching —that when anything unprecedented was attempted, however small, it must be watched and resisted at the outset, lest it should be drawn into a precedent for innovations of a larger and more dangerous character. But another great English writer pointed out the true source of the greatness of empires, and drew the following distinction between mercenary forces and the true support of a country—Lord Bacon : and he hoped there was a copy of his writings in the War-office. (A laugh.) Lord Bacon said— " Therefore, let any Prince or State think soberly of his forces, except his militia of natives be good and valiant soldiers; and let Princes, on the other side, that have sub jects of martial disposition know their own strength, un less they be otherwise wanting to themselves. As for mercenary forces (which is the help in this case), all exam ples show that, whatsoever Estate or Prince doth rest upon them, he may spread his feathers for a time, but he will mew them soon after." (Hear, hear.) What was the lesson taught by the ex amples of the great States of old ? When Marius en listed the rabble and forgot the native militia of the peo ple, he destroyed his country's liberties, and laid the foundation of military tyranny throughout the world. Fie said, then, that such a measure as this was degrad ing to Mngle.rxcl and dostr uctiva of the political charac ter of those who propounded it. This was not the case of Portugal fighting for Portugal- -of Spain fighting for Spain—of the emigrant French fighting for France—of the Swiss fighting for Switzerland ; but it was the mendicant policy of a Minister who set out for the continent to beg troops wherever they could be found, and to pay them for cutting the throats of the men who were to be opposed to them. (Hear, hear.) When asked why he did not send out more troops to the Orimea, the Secretary at War answered that they must first get recruits, and next that they must drill them, which required several months. But if the Go vernment knew that it would take all this time to train these recruits, why did it come to the extraordinary conclusion that war was to be declared with a great military power like Russia before we were prepared to meet it ! Let the house mark the dates. The Guards were sent to Malta in February, and war was declared —or at least meant to be declared —on the 26th of March. Well, what course did common sense—not to say statesmanship—then dicate ? They only sought to amend the Militia Bill for Ireland on the 11th of August. Why did they not embody the English mi litia before they declared war ? Why did they not do what the Duke of Wellington and Lord Hardinge and every man of common sense suggested ? Though they passed a bill in A u g ust to raise 30,000 men in Ireland, it was not until they had resolved to summon Parlia ment, that, in order that they might have some excuse to offer, and that they might appear at last to be con scions of the situat ion of the coun try, the Privy Council issued directions as to the q uotas of d (H re e a a d r il ) y obtained every vote had readily for f rom th e H ouse o f affected to overflow with compas sionTmheensetopbateriportoioviadnedd ha our gallant army i n the Cr i mea b oci y foilii n e aemfConhor antnshdindefatigable m countyams and df fnee l e: n rvy:whohutoghse y Ireland. of e --was it too much to ask what they had done with the powers and resources so confidingly placed at their dis posal ? They had the power of raising 30,000 men in Ireland. Now, be received a letter from Lord Ennis killen, the colonel of a militia regiment in Fermanagh, which the Government had ordered to be raised, and ? Why, that embody it, al thoughiw; e ha h t a d d i d hoe t e h gv e oe rb c o ay l n o e n t e o l rr de o ce f er vhtaehdtr three eh e ge ordern e s t a o y months ago, indeed, to enrol the men ; and that they would have been ready knew th ey were no t m long since if th e order had been given to have them em bodied ; that t he farmers would no t employ men whe were once enrolled, likely to keep th . f they be said No pay, no militia ;" and i_ chose The Go to embody the men who offered the mselves, and would put them in bar racks, there would be largementrn e numbers ready to fight for ve because In feo t t they it might their country. , however, had not done this, and therefore the noble lord the member for Tiverton got up and told them that this was a grave and solemn question—one in which the feelings of hon. mem bers in that house were deeply interested, because many of them had brethren in the Crimea fighting under great difficulties in the noblest canes, and not for the Holy Alliance or to establish despotism anywhere, but to esta blish somewhere the empire of reason ove r b ru t e o force. What was the speech of that noble lo r d, stripped of its janty manner , but an appeal to th ose who had for adrela th ti e v i es r Crimea,sionffertihnegs,for Gd's sake to p ass if they had an y f this bill for their relief ? (Hear, hear.) And there were those present who had relatives engaged in the war. There was the hon. member for Donegal, who had one brother who was shot down and another who wa s tor tured by wou n d s . There was the hon. memb er f or Monaghan, who had a relative who, by the good provi dence of God, escaped covered with wounds and with honour. There was also the member for Antrim, who bad a relative who was transfixed by a bayonet ; and there were many others who had had loved relatives and dear friends who had fallen victims in this war. The noble lord says, " I do not know where we are to get the men, but w h en we do find them we mu s t b r i ng them whe ther the understandings this d u to England. B ut Id o no t know how l ong i t will re: wnedller as sta with quire to d r ill an d teac h th e m before w e sen d t h em to the Crimea in or d er to re li eve ou r friends an d t o put an end to the mead which they wage with the el emen t s as their o f human thosem h wenemies."ho he He appealed a s o t addressed s was not a mockery 1 (Cheers.) The noble lord denies this, but he (Mr. Whiteside) repeated the argument, and addressed himself to those deeply con cerned. It was true that the troops had suffered, it was true that they were starved, and, as Lord Raglan said, " They wer e gathering stones to shelter themselves from the weather. And what was the relief and assistance to be sent to them ? What was the prompt and vigor ous me asure that the present Ad m i n i stration proposed! Why, a bill that was prospective and problematical, to enable them to obtain men whence they did riot know. Or what would be their condition—to drill them, and 12 months hence to send them to the Crimea—and to do what 1 Why, to gather the bones of our countrymen, onrwhose tombs directions should be given to inscribe— "hese brave men perished from tency, and indecision of an English Ministry." (Oppo sition cheers.) The bill was not a reality, and if there was one thing more than a n oth er th at E ng li s h men dis liked, it was to have a measure submitted to them that was not the real thing to accomplish the end in view. ) It might be said that this was an easy mode of answering the qeestiee, and was there nothing that lie could suggest to remedy the evils he complained of ? There was nothing effectual that he would not give or vote to accomplish the end they had in view. They had 11,000 or 12,000 constabulary in Ireland, the ' greater part of whom, from the altered condition of the country, were engaged in fishing—they were trained men, they were armed men, they were moral men, and an honour to the country they served. (Hear, hear.) If he were asked, eager as he was to secure the services of these men at home, yet he would vote that the greater part of the constabulary should be sent to Malta or Gibraltar, which they could hold against the world. He would consent that these mea, if the Government would give them the pay to which they were entitled, should quit the country and fight for the good cause. If asked, he would vote that 30,000 of militia should be raised, and he would tell the noble lord that the recruits were more ready than the Ministers who were in want of them, and, to give a single instance, the recruiting officer at Belfast enlisted 200 men in one day. They could have got the men and drilled them in time, but the Govern ment had not done their duty , and all they now did was to present to Parliament this bill as a great and effectual measure ; but they gave no information as to whether they were to obtain men from Italy, Switzerland, Por tugal, or Spain. Had he not, then, a right to ask whe ther these were measures calculated to strike terror to the Emperor of Russia—(hear, hear)—and to elevate the spirits of the people of England ? In his opinion, there could be no measure more calculated to depress the spirit ef the people of England, or to elevate the hopes of the despotic tyrant than the present, which would convince him that, though we did not fail in heart and courage, yet we did in men. (" Hear, hear," and cheers.) He looked upon this as one ef the most impolitic and • inexpedient measures ever submitted to Parliament. I The best defence he had heard of it was in another house by one of the same character as those who speak one way and vote another. The argument used was that " it is true that a great mistake had been committed by the Ministry, but are we to punish the country for these mistakes ?" He had thought over this argument, and submitted that it was not fair to use it in matters of im portance ; but with regard to mistakes as to lint, rags, and matters of detail, there was no man of generous feeling, in or out of the house, who would on these grounds complain of the Secretary at War ; but when men who were appointed to great offices—men who aspired to be peculiarly the statesmen of the age—men who gave directions as to the affairs of this country, and who could influence empires and the destinies of na tions—when they made groat mistakes he asked the house if they were competent for the offices they filled? (Cheers.) If these mistakes only affected themselves it would be of little importance, but where these mis takes were vital and fundamental, and calculated to bring ruin on the country, then such a defence as the one he had mentioned was most illogical, and the se verest condemnation of the Ministry. (Opposition cheers.) They were about to support this bill, but there were two powers that influeticed the Government —the one a Parliamentary majority, and the other pub lic opinion. (Hear, hear.) To that public opinion, in the shape of, not an ignorant and absurd people, but of the great people of England, expressed after thought, reflection, and consideration—to that opinion the Go vernment must bow, for by it alone the Ministry existed and the Parliament stood. That opinion was against the Government. (Opposition cheers.) That opinion was against the bill by instinct—the instinct of the English nation had guided them in this, for they had not had time to consider its provisions. (Hear.) Conscious of the character of the measure, the Govern ment had not allowed them to do so. By stealth it had been introduced and hurried through the other house, in which all the logic, eloquence, and reason was on one side. (Hear, hear.) It was then introduced here, and hon. gentlemen had voted in its favour, as was their right. He would not presume to question that right—he would not presume to question the sincerity of those hon. gentlemen ; but many of them had, he believed, voted reluctantly—(hear, hear) —and the Go vernment might thus carry the bill, but they could not carry with them the convictions of the country. (Cheers.) How could the Government then hope to carry on this war, unless supported by the enthusiasm and the union of an unconquerable people, and in what condition would they stand without such support ? Never was there a Ministry which had held office or made war under such favourable circumstances. They had their treasury filled with money, England prosperous, Scot land wealthy, and Ireland, what he believed it had never before been for centuries, profoundly tranquil, both Protestant and Catholic agreeing to unite in the good cause against the common enemy. They had the most favourable assurances from every part of their vast empire. Yet, though aided by all this, and with all these resources at their command, the best thing that the united wisdom of a Coalition Cabinet could devise was this bill, by means of which they were to go begging throughout Europe—perhaps to the King of Bavaria — for soldiers ; and the chief ground for this was alleged to be the enthusiasm of Germany. (Opposition cheers.) The Secretary at War had said that there were a great many hungry people in Germany, and he (Mr. White side) believed it—(a laugh)—who wished to quit their country, and these men would become so denationalised that, having once enlisted them, this country would have to keep them for all time. But that on which the Go vernment mestly relied was the enthusiastic spirit of the German people, and on their heart and sympathy being with this country. He liked sympathetic friends, but he liked to see that sympatliyevinced, not by words, but by actions. (Clbeers.) He liked to have such friends ai our allies of France, because he understood that alliance—it was an alliance of a courageous and chival rous people, given on disinterested principles, to enable us to prosecute the war against a despotic tyrant. But what was ho to understand by the sympathy of the Ger man people 1 He wondered that the right hon. gentleman ' could muster gravity sufficient to enable him to advance such an argument. Ile (Mr. 'Whiteside) had read their blue books and diplomatic despatches, but could not dis cover this enthusiasm on the part of Germany ; and how could the petty States dare to show it, knowing that Russia would crush them instantly, and most probably hang those whom this !Government might send out to them ? The right lion. gentleman subsequently spoke of the confidence placed in the treaty with Austria, which everybody understands, and had received with acla mation. Prussia, he stated, had ceased to be equivo cating, Bavaria was our confederate, and that all were ready, for a consideration, to raise and aid us to fight our common enemy. The people of this country would, however, decide whether a more important measure than the present had ever been submitted to a deliberative assembly, and would regard it as such if it were possible to raise men in the petty German States and to .find such a man as Dugald Dalgetty to lead them. It had been said, now that this measure was before Parliament, that none but mistaken and wrong-headed men would write against mercenaries. He had the honour of the ac quaintance of Sir W. Napier, and of many distinguished officers in the Crimea—there could be no mistake about them, and if civilians were incompetent to judge of these matters they must go to military authorities. And he would read to them what the historian of the Peninsular war, a man of unexampled courage, Sir W. Napier, had written on this subject :—" And shall," he wrote, " a mere mercenary band, picked up for gold, without na tional feeling—poor miserable hirelings, selling their limbs and lives, ay, their very souls for lucre—ready, without a cause, to murder, to slay, or be slain, and, of course, ready to change sides for higher pay if good oc casion offer—shall such varlets stand in line beside our noble soldiers who fight shouting England ! England !' and dying murmur, We have done our duty' ?" (Cheers.) He (Mr. Whiteside) trusted that there was as much of that patriotic feeling, self-reliance, and courage left which had distinguished our forefathers as would enable this country to avert that disgrace which, according to the account of the distinguished soldier he had mentioned, would tarnish the hitherto unsullied arms of a free and courageous people, were they to em ploy mercenaries to aid theta in the present war. (The hon. and learned gentleman resumed his seat amid loud cheers.) NEW MEMBER. Lord EBRINGTON here appeared at the bar, and having advanced to the table, took the oaths and his seat for the borough of Marylebone. Mr. S. HERBERT then resumed the debate, and said the hon. gentleman who last addressed the house, had grossly perverted his arguments for the purposes of debate. That hon. gentleman had said he had listened to a debate in the other house on this bill, in which logic, reason, and eloquence w ere all on one side. He (Mr:Sidney Herbert) considered the speech of the hon. gentleman was an apt illustration that logic and reason may be often divorced from acknowledged eloquence. (Hear, hear.) The hon. gentleman would not believe in the enthusiasm of Germany ; but the Governments of those small German States, of which the hon. gentleman spoke contemp tuously, had recorded their opinions that the objects for which the Western Powers were now fighting were just and honourable. (Hear.) When the hon. gentleman said he wished to see our German friends prove their friendship by acts, not words, he (Mr. S. Herbert) re plied, this bill would give them the opportunity of proving their friendship by acts. (Hear.) The member for Staffordshire asked last night why should we not get a Canadian or a Colonial legion ? He (Mr. S. Herbert) said, "by all means ;" let them try and do so, but it was the duty of a Government carry ing on a great war to neglect no measures for enabling them to do so. (Hear.) It was not very encouraging to Ministers who were bringing forward measures with hunesty of purpose to be subjected to such unfair treat ment. (Hear.) •He did not blame hon. gentlemen op posite for expressing their opinions freely against this bill ; but he did complain of the habitual misrepre sentation to which the measures of Government were subjected. (Hear.) The hon. member said Government must bow to public opinion. He (Mr. S. Herbert) knew they must ; and he did not hesitate to submit to the public opinion of this country on this bill, and he believed when they saw the result of this bill they would ap prove of it. (Hear.) Mr. NAPIER deprecated the charge of misrepresen tation made against the h on. and learned were e ceui n g sgrt e , re t n dot ohsa t uepe l rs e nyorc i dw i akr i i a eaoa,b n nesft (Mr. Whiteside) to whose speech he had listened with pleasure and pride. He (Mr. Napier) said this bill was an pnwowife were obligedcairodiousreolsfsctmhi could tbeheuyti this letter suggesto ate actuated rto n i reo and ri thn otdi was irreifn et. repugnant to the feelings of the peo bm:h rg l h inNo h o e oea a n pmr r pcso the ernrta,ahlTgrewi motives" n s e oc e wt r; r i S e a ev b e , n bigh n r ya d \ tvto l i t hri h t t e,ga r , e ing the German Legion, he said it was " well com posed," and was, indeed, a " national force, with high moral motives," Well, if that were so, why not at once declare it 7 (Cheers.) The right hon. gentleman said the Government were not neglecting any means for car rying on the war with vigour —that, in fact, this was a more supplement to their other exertions. But what the people of England and of Ireland said was, that, they had not and that when th e y h a d ex h aus t e d every other m eans yet, enlisted th e w h o l e o f their militia fo rce ; at their command, then would be the time to go to Germany and other places for aux:dim-des. To do other wise was degrading to the county la, dettuctive of the spirit of the people, androf thatimoral elevation and strength of sentiment which, after all, were the great re source, the chief defence of nations. (Cheers.) In op posing it, then, he was simply discharging his duty as a member of the legislature ; Sor he could not imagine that the Parliament of England had been called toge ther merely to enregister the edicts of Ministers. (Hear, hear.) And he hoped that every species of resistance would be offered to the measure: (Oh, ob, and cheers.) With regard to public opinion in Germany, he chal lenged the right hou. gentleman to make trial of that opinion-; and if, during the short recess about to ensue, the people of England applied their minds to the con sideration of the probable operation and effect of the bill, and did not, throughout the kingdom, wherever honesty of purpose, true patriotism, sincere regard for England, and a deep-felt sympathy for her stability and permanence among the nations of the world were to be found—unite in its condemnation, he would never again ask permission to address that house whilst be had the honour of occupying a seat within its walls. (Cheers.) Mr. COBDEN said though he believed the historian would have to record the expedition to the Crimea as the rashest ever undertaken by this country—and that was saying a great deal—still as we had sent an army of 30,000 men from home we were bound to support that army. (Hear.) But he believed the army would not re gard it as a compliment that we wanted to send out to their assistance, not their own countrymen, but mer cenary Germans. The newspapers were careful to tell us that the enthusiasm for the war 'throughout the country was universal ; but the fact was proved to be otherwise by the large deficiency still existing in the number of men voted by Parliament. (Hear, hear.) The Secretary at War spoke of intercepting German emigrants passing through this country for the United States ; but this appeared to be a most puerile argument, for it was notorious that the vast majority of those German emigrants were men ad vanced in life, with their wives and families, and fre quently taking out with them their own clergyman and their own doctor ; and were those the men likely to go out to Sebastopol ? , (Hear, hear.) There was no country in the world, except the United States, in which it would be so difficultlto establish a footing as in Russia. He had said at a public meeting in 1849, that if Russia were to attack England or the United States, or any other large maritime power, she would be crum pled up in her own dreary dominions ; and had that not occurred i (Hear, hear.) Had not the navy of Russia been., rendered perfectly useless by the navies of England and France ; but to attack Russia on land required something more than we ever yet dreamed of. He should not now enter further into the general ques tion of the war ; but on the bringing np of the report he should take leave to offer some general remarks on the prospects of the war, and more particularly with regard to the proposals which the noble lord stated on the pre ceding night had been made, at Vienna, by the Emperor of Russia. He should do so because he thought the house, called together as it had been, should not separate without, if possible, eliciting the opinions of the Govern ment, and, at all events, of expressing their own opi nions, otherwise the house would, in his mind, be in dan ger of losing its character for independence as the great council of the nation. And if other hon. members re ceived the same communications from the camp as he (Mr. C.) did, he thought that a greater act of kindness could not be done to the army than to procure a discus sion. At all events, and under any circumstances, the army would have the satisfaction of knowing that the representatives of the English people did not meet and separate without their attention having been occupied with the state of unparalleled misery which that army was now enduring in the, Crimea. (Hear, hear.) Lord J. RUSSELL said whenever the hon. member brought forward that question the Government would be prepared to discuss it with him. In the meantime he was astonished that the hon. member and several other hon. meriibers should make such a misrepresen tation as that the only assistance Government proposed to send out to the army in the Crimea was a foreign legion, whereas it was well known that in the last three months they had sent out 11,500 men. (Hear, hear.) He regretted that every attempt had been made to degrade the character of men who might with every sense of honour be prepared to enlist in our service. (Hear, hear.) He would not enter more fully into the question now, but would only repeat what he said last night, that this bill was only the first of a series of measures which the Government intended to bring in for the prosecution of the war ; and he was sure that when the people of England became aware of the true scope of those measures they would perceive how much they had been misled by the speeches of hon. members who opposed this bill. (Hear, hear.) Lord C. HAMILTON complained that the Govern ment bad called hon. members at this unusual season of the year from all parts of the united empire to deli berate on measures affecting the war, and when they had assembled to find such a measure as this bill proposed to them to enlist the services' of a foreign legion. (Hear, hear.) He would place no reliance on the enthusiasm of Germany in this cause, of which the Secretary at War spoke so confidently ; and be believed the public opinion and enthusiasm of this country had not yet been fairly tested. Mr. DANBY SEYMOUR said he should not be doing his duty tf, by his vote, he prevented the sending of a single,man to the Crimea ; for he considered that our army was in a critical situation, mainly owing to the in efficiency of the Government. (Hear, hear.) He, in common with most other members, was opposed to this bill. (Hear, hear.) While we were besieging, or rather not besieging, Sebastopol, what were the 54 ships of war doing ? Not employed in cannonading the batteries of Sebastopol, but idling about Balaklava. (Hear, hear.) The ports of the Black Sea—Taganrog for instance— were furnishing Russia with all the elements of war. And further, he was informed that the Greeks were monopolising the Russian trade, to the prejudice of British merchants, who put faith in the faithless ' declaration of Government that a blockade would be established in the Black sea. (Hear, hear.) The hon. gentleman then went at length into the means of Russia, and contended that her resources were failing. It had been said by a great French writer that a great war was a war of budgets —a war to see who could hold out the longest, and the best way to cripple Russia was to destroy her commerce. The house, per haps, was not aware that all the munitions of war— the powder, the cannon balls—all' came down the Don and the Volga to the sea of Azoff, and were conveyed by land to Sebastopol. The Russians had fortified the place for embarking their stores, and this , place was not more than 25 Miles from Eupatoria one of the finest ports in the Black Sea. What would have been easier than for a portion of our magnificent fleet to hav e an chored at Theodosia, and f rom that' place cut off the supplies Russia received from her fortified fort? When the question of the war again occupied the attention of the house he should have a few words to address to it on the resources of Russia. Mr.IPHILLIPS, like the hon. member who spoke last, bad supported the second reading of this bill, but unlike him, he voted for it according to his opinion of its merits, and ii the belief that it was an expedient measure. Mr. ALCOCK believed that the standard had not been sufficiently reduced, nor was the bounty large enough, and for that reason he should oppose the house going into committee. Our object then ought to be to obtain sol diers who would sympathise with ns, and he, therefore, advocated an application to the independent people of the Caucasus, from whom we might not only expect an addition of 40,000 or 50,000 men, but we should have their sympathy, and all the advantages of moral joined to physical force. There was one banner under which that nation would fight, and fight willingly—it was the banner of that nation which was at war with Russia. Admiral WALCOTT could not forbear expressing how much he deplored the introduction of this measure, be cause experience told him what a state the country must be in when they are compelled to resort to foreign mer cenaries. (Hear.) It was no momentary embarrass ment which ought to betray the house into an enactment so dangerous us to familiarise the country with 60 disas trous an example. We were not fighting, as in the last war, against combined forces. We were fighting with noble allies, whose glory was our glory, while our triumphs -were their triumphs. They were possessed of almost inexhaustible resources, and they had shown only ,within the last few days how ready they ware , to contribute support, by embarking a large contin gent for the seat of war. It was a dangerous expedient!; it was a fatal policy ; it was a blot en the British name and a reproach to the disposition of Englishmen to allow foreigners to serve their native land; and, far alma* all, it was a humiliating confession of internal weak ness to which he would never lend his voice. (Cheers.) Let the Government take the true course - give promo tions, give rewards, give pensions, give a fair bounty, and give it with ungrudging hand. (Hear, hear.) They would not then want reinforcements from abroad. Let them look to the sick and wounded, provide for the widow and the orphan, and support the families at home, and then the army would, in numbers, be an army of which the country might well be proud. The army in the field now was not to be surpassed in bravery ; they knew they were trusted, and they would not endanger the glory of England. (Hear, hear.) There was one point which had not been referred to in the course of the discussion, and it was one of a character so honour able to the nation that he was glad to mention it. It was the entire abstinence, by every soldier, w h e ther pri vate or officer, in letters to this country, f an assump tion of glory to themselves for the skill, courage, and fortitude displayed, one and all referring it to the Al mighty God above them. When such men failed, let the Government resort to mercenaries ff they would. Until then, let them trust to the sinews, the nerve , and the courage of E ng li s hmen, - being well assured that in trusting to mercenaries they would embarrass the army, dishearten the troops, and rob them of their vie tories and hard-earned glory. (Cheers.) Mr. SCOTT said, that having been unable to catch the Speaker's eye, he should take another opportunity of enforcing his views. Mr. CONOLLY opposed the bill, and was addressing the house when the Speaker said the time had arrived when the debate must be adjourned. The debate was then adjourned till tomorrow. THE,MISSING ARCTIC EXPEDITION. Mr. NAPIER then moved for copies of all de spatches from the commanding officers of the various ships em ployed in the Arctic S eas i n t h e search for Sir John Franklin ; and of the reports of Dr. Rae in respect t o the relics of the missin g expe di t i on ; and, of any orders that may have'been given, with the view of ob taining further intelligence of the fate of that expedi tion. Sir J. GRAHAM said be had no objection to grant ing this return, .hut he begged t o b e u nd ers t oo d that be could b e no party to another arctic expedition. NEW WRIT FOR NORWICH. A new writ waB ordered to ho i,sued for Norwich in the room of S. M. Peto, Esq., who, since his election, had accepted the office of steward of her Majesty's manor of Northcote. The house they udjouruod. COUY 7TS. EDINBURGH MEAL MARICES T DEC. 19. There were in the market to-day, 16 sacks oatmeal, each weighing 2801bs imperial, which sold thus :-16 at 21. 0 at AL Os Od, and 0 at 0/. Os. EDINBURGH HAY AND STRAW MARKET— DEC. 19. There was a large supply of straw of all descriptions in the market. The prices to-day were as follow : Oat straw, from 6s 6d to 9s Od per kemple of 16 stone tron ; wheat do., 5s 6d to 7s 6d ; barley do., 5s Od to 6s Od. Hay from 10d to 12d ; new ditto, Od to Od per stone. DALKEITH MEAL Oatmeal, per sack of 2801bs imperial Barleymeal, per ditto Peasemeal, per ditto Flour, per ditto Pot-barley, per ditto EARKET-DEO. 18. First. I Second. Third. 42s Oe. , 41s Od Ms 01 28s Od —s Od We 6d —s Oct s Od —a Od —s Od —s Od —a Od 33s Od s Od —s ed. DUBLIN, DEC. 19. The supply to our corn market to-day was small, anti every description of grain met a brisk demand at higher rates. Wheat must be quoted ls, barley 6d to ls, and oats: 3d to 6il dearer than on Friday. Indian corn and foreign. wheats are also held for an advance ; for the latter 2s mono has been obtained. White wheat, 41s 6d to 4411; Od. ; red ditto, 38s to 42. 6.1 barley, 16s 6:1 to 21s Od ; oats, 15s Od to 16s 9d ; rapeseed, 27s Od to 28s 6d per brl ; oatmeal, 16s Od to 17s Od ; bakers" flour, 23s Od to 27s Od per cw t ; luaian corn, 40s Od to 4Ts Qd per 4801bs. COAL MARKET.—Dsc. 20. Prices of Coal per ton at the close of the market. Wallsend, &e. s. d. El. .1. Buddle W. Hartley l7 6 1 Riddell l3 3 Chilton Hartley l6 o,Eden Main 20 0 ilasiing's Hartley l7 &Hatton. 2l 6 Howard's West Hartley IFramwellgate 19 9 Netherton 18 Oillagwell 22 0 Long-ridge's Wst Hartley 18 0 South Hetton 21 3 Ravcnsworth Hartley _lB 0 Pensher . l9 6 Tan6eld Moor l7 3'llussell'e Raton 21 4 Tanfield Moor Butes • l7 3 Stewat 'es 2l 6 Walker Primrose .........16 6 Whitwell 18 6 Wylam 19 C' Hartlepool 2l 0 Heugh Hall . 20 0 Wallsend, &c. South Renee . ~ 20 0 Acorn Close l9 6 Tees Bell and Brown 18 0 Whitworth (losforth lB 6 Cowpen .> lB 0 Eiedley ...18 6 Derwentwater Hart•ley. 18 0 Northumberland, lB 4 , - - RAILWAY TRAFFIC RETURNS. GREAT NORTHERN RAlLWAY.—Traffic return for the week ending Dec. 10, 1854 ' £ 23,619 4 4 Corresponding week last year 18,455 5 10 LANCASHIRE AND YORIKSHIRE RAlLWAY.—Traffic re turn for the week ending Dec. 17, 185 4 ; £ 18 , 393 1 0 Corresponding week last year 17,041 10 5 CHESTER AND HOLYHEAD RAlLWAY.—Traffic return for the week ending Dec. 17, 1854 £4,390 13 1 Corresponding week last year Increase in 1854 CONK AND BANDON RAlLWAY.—Traffie return for the week ending Dec. 1 1854 ..X238 3 9 Corresponding week last year .. 195 19 11 SEABORNE MAILS. (N signifies that the mails are sent from the General Post-office by the night—and M by the morning—despatch.) Day when made up From wl at wham COUNTRIES. in General Post- Port doe 1, Office, London.* Dispatched. Eng:a ad ' kmerica(byltrit.pack)N Every Friday Liverpool Each I.l°ll tmerica (by United Ste. packet) a Nov. 14 .... Liverpool ... Jan. America (by U. States packet) _l4 Nov. 22.. • • Andharnp . ton Australia (ria South- 7 ampton) .......... hi Jan. 4 • • • • • • Southatipton Ditto (via Marseilles) N Jan. 9 Dover Ditto (via Cape of Gond N Dec. 4 .. (WWII" .... . Hope) •• •• •• •• •• .• • ••• Africa ( West Coast) i3d of the month.. Plymouth Alexandria N 3, 9, 24, &30 of in. D o ver d exan d r i a ..........m 4th & 20th of mon. southamptot. Bahamas 17th of the month SocithamptOu Belgium Daily.-- • • • • Dover y xs . 4 o, is Brazil 9th of the month.. S o uthampton • Buenos Ayres.. 21 9th of the month.. Southamst‘m • Cape of Good Hope ..N Various ports Cape of Good Rope ..N Cape de Verds 9th of the month Southampton Ceylon (see India) Ceylon .. Channel Isles .. ......N SouthamPtou ru*" l.4 Chill.. ........ .. NI 2d & 17th of month Southamptou, China (see India) Constantinople 8,13,18,23,&28 of in Dover Constantinople 4th 8: 20th of mon. Southampton Cont. of Europe M & N Twice daily Doirer • Twicmo*- Egypt (see India) France ........ M& N Twice daily— Dover Twice 11111 Gibraltar 7, 17,20, 27 of m. Southampton Deo. 2 0 Greece (see India) Greytown • • • • 2nd &VIM of mon. Southampton Arrived liflmburgh ..........N Tuesday & Friday London ..... llavannah hi 2nd of the month Southampton Deo. 16 Rolland .. Daily.... • • . . Dover Dab y Rollaway ..... M 17th of the month. Southampton India (viaSouthampt.)M 4th & 20th of mon. Plymouth .. Dec. 1 5 India (via Marseilles)3l 9th&2sth of month Dover ...... [onion Isles (see India) 7, 17, & 27 of MOD D0ver.... .. Ireland & N Twice daily fielyhead Twieodfdli Lisbon • • • • • • • • •• .• •• M 7,9, 17, & 27 of m. Southampton Dec. 16 Madeira ...• 9th of the month Southampton Madeira • • • • • • •.....N 23d of month ••••• Liverpool ... Deo. 16 Malta (see India) Malta .. • • 8,18, &28 of men. Dover Dec. 2) Mauritius (see India) Mauritius 14th of the month Mexico ............M,2nd of the month.. Southampton Dec. i 6 , ........N I ldhlsth2sthofmon. Dover •••••• New Granada 2d* 17th of month Southampton New Zea1and..,....... By private skip .. Various port' Uncertalli Papal States sthlsth2sthofinon, Dover ...... Peninsula 7thi7th27thoflnon. Southampton Peru 2d & 27th of mon. Southampton Port Natal ..........N,By,private ship... Various ports Uncoil* , Sicily . • • N 'sthlOth2btholmon, Dover ...... Tuscany •• •• •• •• •• ..Nlsthlsth2sthofmon. Dover •• • • • • Venezuela ...... 2d& 17th of month Southampton Dec. 16 Van Diemen's Land (see Australia) West Indies ... M 2d& 17th ot month SouthampteniDec. 16 !Sonthamptenl 11Deo. 16 When any of these dates fall o i a Sunday, the malls will be de spatched on the following day, with th e excep ti on o f the India els Southampton). and the Malta. both of which will be despatched the preceding day. WIND AND WEATILEIC REPORT. WZDNAIDAT, Dee. 20. Stations. Course of Wind. State of Weather. Greenwich ... N. Lothbury Manchester N.W Cloudy—Cold. Bradford N. Frosty. • Sheffield Wakefield Carisle Lancaster Whitehaven Maryport . N.W Clear—Cold., Stoke-on-Trent .. N W Fine. Bristol N.W Cold—Windy. PlymouLh Torquay N.W Much rain. Taunton N.W - Windy. Swansea N.W Cloudy. Haverfordwest ... • N. W . Fine—Windy. Bath Cardiff • N Southampton N.W Rain. Cowes N.W Fino—WiUdy. Poole Portsmouth Dorchester N. Fine. Brighton N.W Preoty. Peterborough ..... S.W Fi ne . Ipswich Leamington N.N.W..... Unsettled: Lowestoft S.E. Hague S.E. Yarmouth. S.W Rain. Great Grimsby ... N.N.W Rain. Boston N.N.W..... Rain. York Glasgow • N.N.W..... Windy—Cloudy. . Edinurgh N.N.W..... Fine. Perth Dundee Kirkcaldy N.W Fine. Stirling ' N.. , Fine. Greenhill N.W. Sunderland Capar S.W Cloudy. Forfar N.W Cloudy. Aberdeen E. Hull S.W - Much rain. Bridlingi,on Newcastle Scarborough Berwick W Fine. Normanton Rl Ct a o li u nn d : y • N.W Cloudy. li ß t urt ain o f n ord -on . - . T .. re .. n . t . .. . N. . N N. .E wE - • - Derby ............... Pei asborough • N. Rain. Chesterfield N.W Rain. Leicester W.. Nottingham Dublin N.N.W..... Fine -Cold. Holyhead Bangor N.N.W.,... Very windy. Liverpool .B IR T OP A BON. -- ----- On the 15th inst. at Hythe, Kent, the wife of Captain J. H. Freeth, Royal Engineers. OP A DAUGHTXII. On the 17th inst., at Meragissey Vicarage, the wife of the Rev. W. J. Alban. MARRIED. On the 18th inst., at St. Martin's Church, Birmingham, John Henry Golborne, Esq., of Birkenhead, to Mary, the youngest daughter of . John Ransford, Esq., of Leaming ton. On the 16th inst. P William, son of the late W. An derson Massey, Esq., of Fetheringhay, Northamptonshire, to Lou Ma " tilda, eldest daughter of the late W. Vink , Bo g ., don and Rotterdam. DIED. Colonel t On the 20th inst., in South-street , General the of Righeht Hon. Sir James Kempt, G.C.8., 0.C. 11 . , Ist or Royal Regiment. On the 16th inst., at Po il an d-house, Ashton-under- Lyne, Ann, - wife of Charles Hin dle y , Egg., M.P. aged 49. On the 13th inst., at Wantag e, Barks, the Rey. C. B. 13 M.A., aged 59. jy ----- LONDON : Printed and Published by MIIRDO YOUNG. of No. 112, Strand, Printer, .at The Sun Office, No. 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the *panty o f Middlogsx, USIXIKDRY4 Peffiabe 21s an 1 I k