The Sun. — London, England, 1857-07-29 00:00:00

opportunity of conversing with two gentlemen connected d with one of the colleges which he h ad mentioned, he learned from them that the candidat es from that institu tion were the sons of clergymen, barristers, baronets, military officers, physicians, bankers, merchants, and members of the civil service. There was no ground, therefore, for making depreciatory remarks with respect to their social position. A high authority—he believ ed Col. Smythe, one of the commissioners sent to inquire intse the state of the colleges abroad—had stated that— " The young men who have obtained provisional commis sions have surprised the a uthorities b y the extraordinar y pro gress which they have made in acquiring a knowledge of the specialities of their profession, while their bearing and con duct have been most exemplary." There were other passages which he could read in sup port of his views, but he thought he had stated enough to justify him in expressing a hope that the system of examination would not be hastily abandoned. A few weeks since 30examications for militia commissions were advertised, and no less than 120 candidates from the va rious schools and colleges of the country presented themselves for examination, double the number that ever appeared before. He hoped, therefore, that for the pre sent at least an ample trial would be given to the system. It was very important that men of the highest talent should be attracted into our scientific corps. One of those corps—the Engineers—at present laboured under A considerable disadvantage from the circumstance that its best men were withdrawn from it to serve in civil em ployment. It was no doubt convenient to the Govern ment to obtain the services of those officers, but it led to the same complaint that was made of the Indian army, that all the best officers were withdrawn from military duties for civil service or for staff service. He would desire that officers of Engineers should be employed strictly upon military duties. A certain result also should be made to attend upon proficiency in study and testimonies of general ability, that for particular profi ciency an appointment on the staff, or, if possible, a step in promotion should be the reward, as was the case in the French army. Tbcee, however, were matters of de tail, with which his resolution did not deal ; but he could not avoid expressing a desire that there should be a cer tain encouragement held out for proficiency and intellec tual acquirements. He might be told, indeed, that there were other qualities besides those of intellectual know ledge required from officers of the army, and he quite admitted it. He believed no school could be so efficient as that of war in instructingofficers in the duties of their profession, and in time of war those who proved them selves to be fitted for the staff would be the best of all officers, but in peace it was necessary to take the next best te-t. The last preposition which he had to make was the appointment of a council of military and civilian members to carry out the objects he bad in view. He had only the highest opinion of the officers who com posed the present board, but at the same time he did not think that any body of comparatively subordinate offi cers could be completely unbiased and independent while the Commander-in-Chief sat at their head. More over the report of the cemmittee of that houee hailstated their opinion that officers holding high positions at the Horse Guards had not sufficient opportunity for paying due attention to the subject. He wished to add two civilians to the board, persons skilled in examina tion, to assist the military officers in examining the can didates+. He bad no other proposition to make, and had only to observe that our army was a very small one, and yet had to perform duties more arduous than any other in the world. (Hear, hear.) Tuere were some old fashinned objections still raised about a standing army, but he believed if we had nut some sort o! a standing army the country would soon cease to stand by itself, and would fall under the power of some foreign State. Again, it ha I been said that we were a pure'y naval nation, and n)t a military nation ; but when he glanced at the map of the world and saw how many places and what vast territories the British army was called upon to defend and guard he could not reconcile it with com mon sense to hold that we were not a military nation. If they !coked back to the history of our army they would find some of the greatest achievements ever p +r formed had been performed by our army. But, as it was small, it was absolutely necessary to make it as efficient ae possible ; and if steps were taken to do justice to ail officers by guarding as much as possible against fa vouritism, and by making arrangements to afford the highest amount of instruction to all classes of the army, then be thought that our array, small as it was, would be found adequate to its duties and invincible by any other. (Hear, hear.) The hon. and gallant member concluded by moving— " That in the opinion of this house a higher standard of professional instruction and more complet3 provision for it than hitherto deemed requisite o-'ght to be established for the commissioned ranks of the army, but especially for the staff; that this will be best promoted by recourse to competi tive examinations of officers desiring to qualify themselves for the staff, by adopting the same principle with such qualification as may be necessary in examination of candi dates nominated by the Commander-in-Chief for commis sions in the cavalry and infantry, by preserving the present system of admission of cadets for the Ordnance Corps, by assured encouragements for proficiency and general fitness for advancement, and by appointment of the commissioners, or a council of military and civilian members, empowered to direct the measures for accomplishing these objects." The motion having been put, Sir F. SMITH said it was no doubt desirable that a considerable amount of instruction should be given to officers, but he was not one of those who considered theoretical instruction equalty valuable as practical in struction. (Hear, hear.) Officers in the army generany Came prepared with a certain amount of knowledge of the elements of the art of war. He believed that the knowledge of two foreign languages was necessary for an officer, but he did not think a high degree of mathe matical attainments was essential either for officers of the staff or of the army at large. Neither did he consi der the amount of mathematical knowledge now required from officers in the special corps to be insufficiently high. Very few officers brought into any practical use the attainments they acquired at the academy. lie believed that for officers of the line and the staff a knowledge of field fortifi. ations was necessary. They should be able to trace the front of a fortification, and when they say an attack laid down they should be able to comprehend the objects of it. Practically he thought they ought to be instructed in the art of making trenches, faccines, and gabions, of making bridges with casks and boats, and other operations which might become necessary at any time. But that would not require the high standard of attainments which the hon. and gallant General appeared to desire. It had been a matter of discussion whether the afters of the army generally and officers of the special corps should not be instructed at one establi.h ment, and he believed that to be a most desirable ar rangement. The plan had been tried 'at the East India Company's college at Addiscombe, and had been found to answer exceedingly well. Formerly it was not easy to carry . out a scheme of this kind, but now that the whole patronage of the army rested with the Secretary for War he saw no reason why it should not be resorted to. Every officer of the line should have a knowledge of the power of the musket and of the artillery. It was easily attained, and officers of the line should be allowed to go to Woolwich for that purpose. (Hear, hear ) Then, as regarded officers of the staff, he thought it was quite essential that they should be good topographical draughtsmen, able to draw with ease, accuracy, and rapidity. The more staff officers were educated tee better ; but in selecting men for the staff they must go beyond mere education, and have regard to physical considerations. (Hear, hear.) They must be men of robust constitutions, able to endure fatigue and to "rough it" when not in quarters, for they were often not so comfortably placed as the officers of the line. The staff officer should al.o be a man of quick sight, a good horseman, and a good swordsman. He required to be a good swordsman, for he might not unfrequeeily have to defend himself with his single arm. A. son of Lord Raglan, when in action in India, had to defend himself against five or six of the enemy who surrounded him, and cut his way through them with his sword in safety. • (Hear, hear.) He thought it was of the greatest importance that the officers of the army should receive instructions of a practical kind, and that their military education should not be merely theoretical. A know ledge of modern languages, such as French and German, was of great consequence, and ought also to form part of the education of every officer. (Hear, hear.) General WINDHAM thought that in these ex imi nations much more ought to be considered than mere education. He would suppose that two youths were brought to be examined—one brave, generous, good humoured, full of good sense and zeal—in short, a flue fellow, and just the man they wanted for an officer, but not particularly well educated ; the other a young man of high attainments as a scholar, but possessing none of the good qualities of the first. The instant these t‘wo men came before the Board of Examiners they would take the one that had been educated, and leave the other entirely out of the question. (Hear hear.) Now, surely the examination should extend a little be yond ascertaining the fact whether a man could speak French or not. (Hear.) Ho was convinced that these examinations were excellent in so far as regarded the education of candidates ; but they were not such as to secure the selection of the beet men for the service. (Hear, hear.) With regard to the staff it would be very different. Officers wishing to qu a lify them s elves for the staff would be known. Having been long in tlie service — perhaps seven years—there would exist the means of k b n e e p w n i t ni what sort of men they were, and they could with advantage, th r ough ea a good stringent examination was a great deal m y o . But he thought there re_nf r' e s h s e a a b r o .) ut education in the army tome woafstnheeceeesswahr o were had observed in the field.that Possessed o ( f H g e r a e r at ) at H ta e in a m r e m n i t y s turned out to be the worst o believed that the officers of thee e E s lish army were q u it e as well educated as those of the French army, and th a t which in the part of the service in e o d owing re most deficient—the staff—the deficiency w as were said to be to the want of practice than to the want f more (Hear, hear.) Our staff was not well occupied , thought the Government would act wisely if they oopi h e l t h e F renc h system, which was established by o n ; c f their most eminent Generals during the great war. In the Crimean campaign a great error was committed in not having the chief of the staff and the quartermaster. general independent of each other. There ought in all cases to be an independent quartermaster-general and an independent chief of the staff, just as the Minister of War and the Commander in-Chief were independent of each other. (Hear, hear.) He hoped the Geyer:- * meet would give the chief of the staff prop r officers attached to that staff, and not make ar- Z ) rangements of a mixed kind, which were neither one thing nor another. (Hear , hear.) Mt with regard to military education one great advantage which he hoped would arise from it was that it would lead the people of this country to consent to a general system of military organisation. (Hear.) This was not the time to discuss such a question, but he could ot elp saying that what we want e d was not such a general l military organisation as fitted the continent, but such a rational systeta as became a f re e country.' (Hear.) What we wanted was regular militia, and reserves volun teering from that militia, which would form a constant source of supply of men for the army. Connected with this was the question of national defence and other con siderations of great importance. If we were to go on as we had hitherto done we must always be too late — for this reason, that the Government on an emergency had to come down to the house to ask for money to get men, when the men ought to be ready to their handy. They never asked for money until they were in pressing need of the men. No doubt there were many more dif• ficulties in this subject, and many more things to be considered than appeared at first Eight. For instance, there was the number of the militia to be taken into consideration, the manner in which it was to be raised, and its connexion with the army—whether it should be in immediate eonnexion or, as at present, in a state of semi-antagonism. Then, too, there was the question of the staff, of military education generally, and, above all, of the relation which ought to exist between the duties of the Minister at War and the Commander-in-Chief. The noble lcrd at the head of the Government, of all men in the empire, was by his experience, his abilities, and his popularity best fitted to carry out some rational system of military organisation, and if he would under take and complete that task he would deserve the grati tude of the country. (Hear, hear.) Sir W. WILLIAMS could assure the gallant general the member for Westminster that he was under a misap prehension in supposing that there was any favouritism shown in the examinations for commissions by which unfit persons were admitted into the service. The proportion of those who came for ward and were rejected was between one-fourth and one-third of the whole number of candi dates. He had sent a cousin of his down to Sandhurst not very long ago to be examined fur a commission, and, without wishing any favouritism to be shown to him, he wrote to Sir Harry Jones, asking him to give him that encouragement which a youth would stand in need of at such a time. In the evening, however, he had the morti fication of getting a letter to tell him that his cousin had been rejected. He prepared himself again, and went up for re examination ; but, more through fear, probably, than want of attainments, he again failed. He had had under his command officers who had passed through Woolwich, and those who, owing to the exigencies of the service had been admitted without going that institu tion, and, though the zeal and good conduct of these latter had been above all praise, yet, owing to the want of a military training, they were not equal to those who had passed through Woolwich. Those who had charge of Woolwich laboured under the mistake of bringing the pupils in at too advanced an age, which had the effect of making most of the officers in the scientific corps old men before they could attain high command. He was as strong an advocate of competitive examination in the line and in the two scientific corps as any one ; but he hoped that the military authorities would continue to retain the right of nomination. It would be a very dangerous ex periment for them to relinquish that right. He wished, too, to see a real bona fide staff corps established. When addressing the house on a former occasion on this sub ject he had expressed his regret at the abolition of the old corps of draughtsmen and surveyors, by which step the army had been deprived of that which was necessary for its efficiency, and he hoped to see the day when those corps would be revived. The French had a beautiful staff corps, and their system ought to be adopted by UP. The questions of promotion by purchase and military education were very intimately connected. Without pur chase there would be favouritism and affection. He had seen more regiments of the line than most officers, and he bad always remarked in what an extraordinary manner the system of purchase kept up the youthfulne.s of these regiments. In the scientific c ‘rps, where there was no purchase, the case was different. At 40 years of age he himself was only a second captain. No doubt, under the purchase system, there was a certain amount of vexation experienced when one man purchased over another ; but that was nothing to the heartburning which was occasioned when an officer was put over another on account of some pretended superiority of talent or in tellectual attainments. During the debate of the previ ous evening the right hon. gentleman the President of the B3ard of Control had spoken of the want of that proper communication between the officer and the Sepoy which perhaps had occasioned a great deal of the misery we now deplored, and bad asked how that evil could be remedied. The remedy which he (Sir W. Williams) would recommend woule be not to give a single step of rank In any native regiment without an examination, not to give a lieutenancy to an ensign until he had made considerable progress in the native language, an to give no man his company until be was a perfect master of the Hindostanee. (Hear, hear.) Mr. PALK had hoped the gallant general would have taken a broader view of the subject, that be would have given! the house the benefit of his great experience and practical knowledge, that he would have shown the evil of the present system of pro motion both in the staff and in the line, and that be would have offered some suggestions for improving the organization of the army. He had expected the gallant general to have instanced the case of other professions, and to have shown that in them every one had to undergo a competitive examination at college or else where. He had expected him to have drawn from these premises the fact that men of vast knowledge and great acquirements who had attained the highest and proudest positions in the State had risen from the humbler classes, affording in their own persons a proof that education would elicit the best attributes of man, and that it was not to birth alone that we could trust for a due per- , format:me of the duties that were required of us. The gallant general might have instanced the case of our own army, essentially aristocratic—much more so than any army on the continent—in which few men had risen from the ranks to high positions. He had thought that the gallant officer would have referred to the ga lautry of our officers—the steadiness and forbearances in times of difficulty of our men, and that he would have shown that that was owing to the aristocratic element which so strongly impregnated our armies, and which sent out young men proud of their name, of their faintly, and of their country, to gain fresh honours and add new laurels to our fame. He had thought that the gallant general might have gone on and have proposed, without bringing the two classes into collision, a test of education which should insure to all who passed an examination a com mission in the army ; and that he might have said that, great and glorious as the deeds of our army bad been, the time had come when more liberal ideas were preva lent, and when it was essential for the benefit of the country that the organization of the army should be im proved by more comprehensive and extended views. The first step towards such improvement would be to sh)w to young men that energy and talent would insure advance ment, and that, if they did their duty well and gallantly and at the same time acquired those scientific attainments• which were essential to their position, whether they had the good luck to be the friends of the Government or not, their talent and energy would b e recogn i se d, an d th e i r promotion would be as certain as if they were nephews of the Secretary of State for War. At present such un fortunately was not the case, as too many instances would prove. He held in his hand, for example, a letter signed by a gallant officer who had entered the army many years ago, and whose services, perhaps, had been long forgotten. That officer served years in the artillery, and passed through all the courses of drill and practical instruction at Woolwich several times. In the spring of 1825 he accepted the offer of the Duke of York te volun teer into the line, on the promise that everything that could properly be done for the advancement of those who so volunteered should be done. He went t)rough a long period of service. In 1831 he was appointed by Lord Clare as assistant and secretary to the mission pro ceeding to Scinde. Having been upwards of 16 years a subaltern he purchased his rank as captain, and at length, having embarked all his fortune in the service, and when it was too late to think of devoting himself to any other profession, he was compelled, for the sake of his family, to sell his commission. He then addressed a letter to Lord Panmure, from whom he received the following reply those highly connected. (Hear.) It was necessary that our men and officers should be picked from the whole of the British nation. (Hear, hear.) 'What he would suggest was that in place of resolutions which, after all, meant but little and carried hut little weight with them, the hon. and gallant general (Sir De Lacy Evans), and others who him had gassed a 1 irg lifeir, the service of their country, should bring forward some plan by which men who adopted the profession of arms might be assured that talent, industry, and perseverance would reap for them that reward which seemed at pre sent only to be obtained by patronage. (Hear.) He bad been favoured with a pamphlet which denied the state ment often made that the army of this country had bean ruined by the parsimony of the House of Commons. In this pamphlet the cost of the Austrian and the English armies were cootrasted, by which it appeared that " for the outlay of 9,713,974/. we kept on foot an effective force of 120,000 men, whereas this sum would have suf ficed in Austria to pay and maintain 540,000 men on the peace establishment." He could not, therefore, quite give his adherence to the statement that the parsimony of the House of Commons had destroyed or injured the army. (Hear.) It had been the long mismanagement which had injured the army ; and he thought that if the matter could be investigated it would be found that our system, as compared with that of foreign countries, was more expensive and by no means so efficient. (Hear.) What he contended was that if they were going to change their system of promotion in the army they ought not to proceed by resolution, but to lay down some practical plan, and come to Parliament for the means to carry it out, for he did not think that small palliatives for evils, if they were evils, were worthy of this house or of the country. ; practice to establish a comparatively slight test of capa city in the case of an offiler upon entrance, but to com pel him to undergo a most severe examination some four or five years later, when he was about to bs raised to the rank of lieutenant. Now, that he must confess he re garded as a plan most superior to the system which would make the efficiency of an officer depend entirely upon the acquirements which he happened to possess when he first obtained his commission. (Hear.) The knowledge to which a young man of the age of 16 or 17 might have attained was influenced quite as much by the circumstances of his position as by his personal cha racter or capacity ; but the knowledge of the same per son at the age of 20 or 21 would depend in a great niea , sure upon the use which he had made of his time, and upon his disposition to be industrious. (Hear, hear.) He was, under these circumstances, strongly of opi nion that it would be most advisable not to hold out to young men the prospect that aheir education was finished the moment they entered the army, but, upon the contrary, the necessity of acquiring further information as a means of contributing to their promotion at a subsequent period should be impressed upon their minds. Those various questions—namely, the establishment of a fit excluding test for all persons in the case of first enlistment, the throwing open a certain number of commissions to competition, the granting of pecuniary rewards to those who might be found deserv ing of the distinction, and the institution of a separate examination for those officers who were about to be . raised to the rank of captains or lieutenants—embraced, he believed, all the educational means which, without resorting to pedantic strictness, could well be applied to the promotion of professional knowledge in the army at large. With respect to the staff the case was, in his Sir J. RAMSDEN believed it was universally ad- I mitted that it was of the utmost importance to encourage military education. The Government were engaged in preparing a comprehensive scheme on that subjeet, which he believed would meet all the exigencies of the case. The first of the reports of the commission which had been appointed to inquire in to the education of can didates for the military service had been received by the Government, and copies of it would be furnished to the house on the following day. It proposed that these can didates should be examined at head-quarters in London, under the direction of the Council of Education, and that the examination should be conducted by military and civilian examiners, to be recommended annually by that council to the Commander-in-Chief, and to be ap , pointed by him after receiving the concurrence of the Secretary of State. The candidate would have to pro duce a certificate from a clergyman to prove that he had been duly instructed in the principles of religion. If he were a member of the Church of England he would be required to produce a certificate of confirmation. The candidate would also have to produce a certificate from the schoolmaster by whom he had been educated, testi fying to his general good conduct. The subjects on which he would be examined would be divided into com pulsory and optional. He would be required to pass an examination in mathematics, algebra, simple equations, the first four books of Euclid, and, in addition, he would be compelled to show that he had a considerable know ledge of French and English composition and of the his tory of England and its dependencies, and also of geogra phy. These subjects did not embrace by any means the whole of the education that would be required, because the candidates would be required to pass an examination in certain subj-cts which, to some extent, it would be left to himself to select. He might select any branch of the higher mathematics or some modern language in ad dition to French, or a more extended knowledge of Li tory and geogaaphy, physical science, or a know opinion, of a character somewhat different, and he could not help expressing his satisfaction at the statement which had been made by the boa. gentleman the Un der-Secretary for War, to the effect that the new training colleges for the members of the staff were intended to be based upon the competitive principle, both with respect to the first admission to them and in regard to the hon ours and distinctions which might be subsequently ob tained. The objections which he had urged against the adoption of such a competitive system were, in the first place, that in consequence of the way in which our troops were scattered all over the world, the system could not be carried into execution ; and, in the second place, that, even if it could be carrie 1 Into execution, it was a scheme to which it was undesirable to have recourse, inasmuch as, whatever test of the intellectual advantages of a candidate it might afford, it presented no proof of his moral or phy,ical qualifications. Now, in answer to the first objection he might observe that it was, at all events, of no force so far as the military colleges were concerned, while he might state in reply to the second that, in his opinion, the competitive test, if fairly applied, afforded a much better proof of the moral than even of the intellectual qualifications of the candidate. Judging, for instance, from the analogy presented by the acquisition of academic honours, he did not believe that ability was the main requisite for success. A far more essential possession was indus try—(hear, hear)—which was generally found to be the accompaniment in youth of a good moral character. He might add that the danger that men possessing great intellectual powers, but who were physically unfit for military service, might in great numbers obtain commis sions under the operation of such a competitive system was not one which it was probable would prevail to any great extant, inasmuch as, practically speaking, it would be found that men who were physically feeble would not enter the army for the simple reason that they would be likely to succeed better in some other profession. The ledge of drawing. At first sight it might appear that system of:competition furnished at all events, a better tes sufficient importance was not attached in that scheme of a man's efficiency for the military service than either to military education, but he thought it would be wealth, or political connexion, or mere seniority, or pro foun 1 that that was not so. Though they did not say motion obtained through the influence of favour. (Hear.) that a classical education was an indefensible qualifica- It might, it was true, be regarded as having too demo. tion for an officer, yet they believed that it was ver y cratic a tendency ; but, in his opinion, there was no mode desirable that that literature should be encouraged in of excluding a man from the higher branches of the ser every possible way. The scheme of education was of a vice at once so efficacious and likely to prove so gene general characters It did not require any purely min. rally acceptable to the country as that by which an edu tary knowledge. He could refer to some of the highest cational test was established, which if he could not pass authorities in this country, to France, and every other he should be entitled to promotion. (Hear.) He would continental military nation as witnesses in favour of that only add that the subject was one which they were that part of the scheme. Another reason why the Govern- evening discussing upon imperfect information. When went were desirous of not requiring from the candidates the report of the commission which was now sitting upon anything beyond a general liberal education as a founda- the que-tion of education in the army was laid before tion on which to raise a professional knowledge after- them they would be in a better position to come to a wards was their anxiety to draw to the army as much as conclusion with reference to the important topic of mill possible such as had been educated in the great public tary promotion. Meantime he should content himself with schools of the country. (Hear, hear.) They were of the expreseion of his approval of the measure which the opinion that in an intellectual point of view no education Government prof ored to adopt, as being, to use an ordi imparted in this country was superior to that imparted nary phrase, a step in the right direction. (hear.) in those schools. Moreovor, the general habits of dis- Mr. S. HERBERT—I am indebted to the house to cipline and subordination, the healthy and manly tone. so great an extent for the indulgence which, when I which obtained in them, was deemed to be the best pre- addressed it upon this subject upon previous occasions, paration for a military career. (Hear, hear.) And I received at the hands of its members, that I will there was a further reason why a professional know- endeavour to prove my gratitude for their past kindness ledge was not exacted from the candidate, because it by now trespassing upon their attention for as shirt a was felt that, if he should fail in passing his examination time as possible. It is, I think, of importance that and might wish upon that failure to enter into some we should this evening begin to take stock of our other profession, the time which might have been occn- agreements and disagreements with respect to the ques pied in acquiring a military knowlodge might be regarded tion under our notice. My hon. and gallant friend the as wa-ted. The Government then did not altogether member for Norfolk seems to object to a scheme of com agree with the hon. and gallant member for Westminster petitive examination for commissions in the line, and I as to the examination to be required on entrance into concur with him so far as to deem it desirable that we the service. With regard to the staff, he agreed with should wait to see the result of the system of competition much that had fallen from the hon. and gallant member in the case of the Ordnance corps before we give a de for Westminster. He could not atate in detail the plan cided opinion with respect to the expediency of adopting of the Government, but it had been decided that en- it in reference to first commissions in the line. There trance to the staff should be by competition, that at the appears to me, I confess, to be this difficulty with regard close of the course of study there*should be an examine- to the establishment of competitive examinations for tion, that the examination should be competitive, and those commissions, viz., that the qualifications necessary that certificates should be given which should constitute to constitute a good officer cannot always be made the the qualification of employment upon the staff. The subject of educational test. So far as intellectual quali bon' and gallant officer wished to preserve the preFent ties are concerned, you can ascertain them by that test ; system of cadets for the Ordnance Corps. The but if you admita competitive examination, and no other Government were aware of the advantages of this test, men may enter the army who have no qualification system, which was established by the present beyond what that examination proves them to possess. Mini-ter for War. No scheme of operations had been ac- I confess I rather agree with the view of those who are tually arranged, but a plan was under the consideration in favour of a competitive examination only, because you of the Government for amalgamatin g th e m ilit ar y e d uca - may extend it not only to intellectual, but t o mora l an d tion of Woolwich and Sandhurst in one military nolloge, physical qualities. You may ascertain what a man's in which all the preliminary military education of the strength is with the gloves on or at single stick ; or you country might be given. After prelimi nar y exam i na ti ons may put him into a field surround e d by f our st iff Leicet and after being educated in this c o ll ege f or a cer t a i n terehire fences and see how he gets out of it. (A l aug h.) time, it was proposed that there should be a complete These points are not immaterial in the creation of good examination of the pupils, and that admission should be officers, though they are not! tests usually applied by exa given to the Ordnance Corps in the or d er o f th at exam i- miners. My hon. and gallant friend (G en . Wi n dh am ) nation, those who passed it with success being allowed has put the case of two candidates for a commission in to select an admission into the line if th e y p re f erre d i t t o the line—the one a generous, liberal, fi n e f e ll ow , w h o entering either of the Ordnance Corps. This would be a has been rather idle with regard to his studies, an d th e great advantage. He believed th a t i n some o f t h e mi ll- other a learned bookworm, whose eyesore worn out with tail schools of the continent all the p u pil s b es t qua l i fi e d r dng, the active duties of a soldier's life. I don't w a nt by ability and instruction e n t ere d th e O r d nance C orps, unfit t i for who is a bad horseman, and w h o i s a lt oge th er leaving only those pupils fo r th e li ne w h o cou ld not cam- however, to substitute the bookworm for the fi ne f e ll ow , pets with the Ordnance Corps. The Governmentthought but to get hold of the fine fellow and to take care that he that by throwing open certai n comm i ss i ons , an d by giv- knows his duties thoroughly, Under the present eye ing gratuitous commissions in the li ne as we ll as • t h e Ordnance Corps they might ind uce some o f the most successful candidates at the Sandh urs t exam i nat i ons to inefficient,t er n you and have the bo o k worm—the man physically you - Constantl y h ave hi m. As to the fine may fell ore I agree in the opinion of Sir C. Napier, who says elect the line in preference to the O r d nance Corps, so there is no officer in the world lik e t h e E ng li s h gentleman that the best men might thus be spread more evenly over —I don t mean in the sense in w hi c h t h at term i s some the service. The Government most f u lly concurred with ti mes u se d, ap plying only to th e l an d e d gentry, b ut amen the hon, and gallant member for W es t m i nster i n h i s re- ' of liberal education, who possesses the advantages which commendations of "assured encouragements" being given result trove such an education; An hon. and gallant " for pro fi c i enc y and general fitness for advancement" officer has exp reseed a fear lest you should establish too and this recommendation would be enti re l y carried out high a standard of examination ; but why have too high as soon as the system of competitive examination could a standard of ex amination ? I think the danger is the be applied to entrance to the staff. The hon. and gal- other way. Standards of examination are not apt to rise. !ant officer's fifth recommendation, that a council of On the contrary, they have a great tendency to fail, and military education should be established, had already if you insist upon men otherwise competent to be officers been adopted. After mature consideration, however, it Passing through an examination for their first commis had been determined that it should be composed excite sions I don't think there is any danger of the standard sively of military members, and not of " military and being placed too high. I do not give any opinion on civilian members," as recommended by the hon. and the subject o f co mpetition for entrance into the ordnance gallant officer. It was thought better to 1 iok for the corps. You have, I believe, the same class of men as you counterpoise to the exclusively mi'itary character of the had beiore—neither better nor worse. I know it is not council in the appointment of civilians by whom the ex- a popular doctrine that i - , is of any importance that tee aminations for commissions should be eonducted. It was army should be officered by gentlemen, but I hold that not the intention of the Commander-in-Chief to take part it is so. (hear.) I will tell you why I entertain that opi in the deliberations of the council, but the military edu- niou. Our object ought to be to get that class of men cation of officers of the army would be under his control, who will make the best officers. Prove to me that pea and the council would report to him, so that everything sante make the best officers, and I say "Let al your relating to the council w ou ld pass through his hands and o ffi cers b e peasa nts." I think, however, that in dealing through the office of the Minister for War. He could with a question of this kind you ought not to consider not say that the plan of the Government entirely a g reed the interests of a n y class, but your object ought to be to with that of the hen . a n d gallant officer ; but, although obtain men who can most efficiently discharge the duties there might be a difference upon minor points, yet the they are required to perform. England is a nation Government and his hon. and gallant friend would be essentially not military with regard to its interior habits acting in the saran spirit. He trusted that his hon. and and organisation. The habit of military organizltion is gallant friend, seeing what had already been done and foreign to its people. A- the meet complete discipline was being done, would not press his resolution, which, if and thorough obedience are necessary to the efficiency carried, would prevent 'th e G overnment from carrying of an army, you cannot afford to throw away any ele out their views with perfect freedom. Next session the ment which will secure those objects ; and one of the house would be In a condition to consider the whole plan main elements of our army is that the peasants who in all its details. (Hear.) compose the private soldiers have a natural tendency to Col. NORTH was glad to hear that the examinations toll tw the lead of a gentleman by whom they are offi for the Ordnance Corps would be removed to London. cored. That is my only reason for entertaining the opi slany of the boys now examined failed from fright. The mien I have expressed. You cannot persuade men that, examination lasted frcm 10 to 6, and it would be a great in other professions, it ii a disadvantage to be a gentle advantage if it were spre a d over t wo days, arid he hoped man, and, indeed, the cUmmon sense of mankind leads that the examiners would be men who would encouraee to a contrary conclusion. The hon. gentleman opposite the boys to answer, and not frightea them. He was g l a d (&tr. Pelk) says he does not see how a system of army to see the system of examination a'lopted, but he feared education can be carried to any height compatibly with that it would deprive the service of many young fello Ws the system of purchase. I don't see any such difficulty. who could not get through their Euclid, but who made Whether a man rises by seniority aided by purchase, excellent officers whenever the wen were to be led in any whether by seniority without purchase, or whether service of peril. There would be some danger he thought by selection, I don't understand why you cannot have a in making the examination too high. He felt it to be standard of txernination which will secure that a man, 1 his duty before he sat down to impress upon the Govern- however he bas obtained his promotion, is fit to di:.- went the fact that they allowed the militia to disappear charge the duties of his position. There are one or two almost altogether, and reduced that branch of the ser- other points upon which I may be allowed to say a few vice, in fact, to the position of being little more than a words. I have heard it said that a sore feeling has been militia in name. (Hear.) produced in the army by the statements that have been Lord STANLEY said that the hon. and gall an t gen. made by civilians with respect_te .th a e n c d on t d h u a c t t t o h f e ge m ner y a e l tleman the member for Wesminster had d rawn a very o m ffi e ti c e t r f s o r c i o m r m e a aeding ed i u n ca t o h on fd in ld the army is regarded wise and proper distinction between the qualifi ca ti ons by them as a sle ti r n . g I think the latter idea is unfounded, which it was desirable that a person should possess for but I also think that the civilians of this cocatry have admission into the army and those which should entitle judged officers in high command with , great a u ot i nfa f irnes e s d . our ou orm him to be placed upon the staff. He quite concurr e d i n a (Hear, hear.) The traditions of f the most remarkable men the opinion that there were many men who possessed upon England the e e y u ec r ci eases duocfed"e o and we are disposed to complain but very little bo o k-l earn i ng or v er y little capacity f or that every officer pro sent in command of an expedition does acquiring it woo , a lth oug h th e y might not in conse- not possess the genius of the Duke of Wellington. Now, quence be fitted to hold high commands, yet would be how many great genera l s h as England pr ,, , r. i a d k u e ce. c d rt ? )m W w h ei e l o found in a subordinate position admirably adapted to you may count them on your fint:;%- l . I will, Wellington, head a forlorn hope or to lead a charge in the field, But a%adt-ITirveettabb• i Peterborougle o , if further you find yourselves although he, upon that account, deemed it inexpedient t sn another ; cl u ale w a e n n d yiotucagnnot be expected that every that competiti on s h ou ld b e ma d e th e only means of ob• man itt eoatino ul nd of an arialy should not only ;exhibit I the experience, of a taking admission into the army, he was prepared to 1 t', capacity, out should posse s set) So far, then, we maintain that it was highly desirable that a certain pro. I Welli:;s'a:n Or a Marlboron g .. I maintain that the portion of those commissions which happened to be at have judged very unfairly. -Dus - -- ev, " Here • and lea .... the disposal of the Government should be open to corn. army may retort upon civiliaes, Y - - i we have had a war conducted during three or four a. ars, petition upon the part of the community at large. lie an d 3, '' e civilian who has shown t cannc t t point out , O ti n i was also of opinion that as at the universities scholar- any - great for directing the opera ships and exhibitions were granted partly as marks of tionsgofatheaPall aptitude e (H or gelhil k I hide always felt that ar. s ear, hear. . ~ .-., { 'Lin s u a_ merit, partly as substantial incentives to industry,• the 'so it most important question in C0115( . X1311 c%lta, . would be poeeiele at a very -e 11 co • sin cast to the country to I ject is the mode of admission to tbo staff'. A oalla: t ' , , devise a system of military prizes which should be dis i l efficer, whosits . me, his recommended lust near •we pensed to the youths at our military college There -- .8. was shout:! copy the French system. I confess that lam another point to which, although it did not come within' vet much •,• '. 3 afoot] of adopting aey plan welch is merely the terms of the resolution her for Westminster ,be might be allowed briefly to ad- the P'' 1 _cu far dualities and habits of the British army, arid vest. The house was aware that in the navy it was *he I don't believe that ' the lo fetich system of a separate staff "War-office, June 24. "Sir,—l am directed by Lord Paniuure to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, containing a statement of your past services, which he has perused with great interest ; and in reply I am directed to state that, while Lord Pal mare most sincerely sympathises with you in your misfor tunes, his lordship deeply regrets it is not in his power to remedy complaints of such long standing, or to reverse acts which you have characterised in such strong language. " I have the honour to be, &c., " J. GROOMES, Assistant-Secretary." In that instance, therefore, because the complaints were of long standing, there was no remedy for that gallant officer. But the system which existed then existed still, and he would submit to the house anoth , T instance which happened very recently. It was the case of an officer who during the last war, possessing high military attain meats, and being a first rate linguist, distinguished him self in the field, but having no military interest, at last, with the greatest difficulty, succeeded in obtaining a staff appointment, and proving himself so highly effi cient in organisation and detail was intrusted with a high responsibility, anal to the command of a brigade, which he performed with the greatest credit, winning the universal approbation of those who bore witness to the extreme judgment and ability he displayed, and for which he receive,' the highest testimonials. That officer was at this moment a subaltern in the army. He was brought up for the service, for which he was speaialy educated ; ho was a young man of great ability, and was rather an extraordinary linguist, for he spoke French, Spani-b, German, Italian, Turkish, and Russian with a certain knowledge of Arabic, modern Greek, and Persian. After the fire at Varna he was sent to Bulgaria to collect stores for the commissariat, and in consequence of his knowledge of the language and of his zeal, he, at a time when the army was in the greatest difficulties, sent down every day 30 waggon-loads of forage. He (Hr. Palk) was not permitted to go very much into the case, for the officer of whom he was speaking would be very much shocked if hi : name or services were made public, but he was satisfied no officer ever distinguishel himself more for personal gallantry than this young man. Gee. Pennefather, in a testimonial to which he was permitted to refer, spoke highly of his services in connection with the Italian Legion ; and yet, in spite of the services he had rendered in the Crimea, in spite of the approbation expressed with regard to his conduct, this young officer was at the present moment doing duty as a subaltern. H e had been educated for the army, was mightn a require anm to ow skilled ii all the var i ous l anguages which a soldier in service, distinguished n i s h h a e d d cal nor fa y milarl n the , interest, and neither himself as ra pu g it was to be feared that. like the gentleman whose case had previeudy been re ferred to, After faithfully serving his Qen and , s he might receive from th e War-officeue at the end of county days such a later as that of Lord Panneure. It w as u fo ' r this reason that he (ltr. Palk), as one who had tho honour of holding a commissio n in her Majesty's ser vice, and as an independent member of this house, wished to ask whether the army was in such a satisfactory state as wool I induce young men of talent and energy to seek for that advancement in it which, without bete rest, seemed denied to them ? And yet this country re-. , quired iu the army men of the highest talent. It would no longer du to select officers from the small circle of THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY_ EVENING JULY 29, 1857, corps rising by promotion within that c rps, and never I going back to regimental duty, would be suitable to the 3riti,h army. It would create a separate class, which will be regarded with the greate , t j , ab , u , y, and I believe the heat feature of our system is that the staff officer, when not employed on the staff, goe; back to his ordinary dutie3 and mixes with the regimental officer,. I am not prepared to give an opinion as to the principle of a competitive examination for first commissions, but when once you have men who are good officers in your service I see no objection to competition for staff ap pointments, or for admission into the staff school. I pro posed last year that those officers who most distin guished lh onselres in x teninatio , f for promotion should compete for admission in the staff schools ; and I think I understood that it is now the intention of her Majesty's Government to establish an examination for the staff. I understand the arrangement proposed by the general order that any officer nominated to the staff should be required to submit to examination by three officers ap pointed by the Horse Guards is to be abandoned. Such an examination would come down to the candidate, and would not attempt to establish a ieandard to which he should rise. I consider that you ought to have a per manent body of examiners, who would subject all candi da' es to an equal test, and would be competent to ascer tain whether the attainments of candidates were the result of cramming, or of study and application. (Hear, hear). I think, also, that the education of the staff should apply to aides-de-camp. They are required to discharge most important duties, and very high respon sibility frequently attaches to them. Although it is not their duty to direct operations, but to convey orders, e'rcumstances may change before they arrive at the point to which they are despatched, and they may be called upon to exercise considerable discretion. If they are only to be the bearers of me rsages, that duty might be as well performed by ordinary Dragoons. They are usually in personal attendance on the officers in com mand, and they are sure to be mentioned in despatcbes and to obtain promotion, for the generals to whom they are attached naturally speak of duties which are per formed under their own eyes. Ido not say that a general officer may not be allowed to choose his own personal staff, but he should be limited in his choice to those persons who are on the list as having qualified themselves for those duties which they will be called upon to perform. I beg pardon of the house fur detaining them upon these points, but what I want to see is that the examination for the staff should be made as practical as it is possible to make it. I see from the report of the commission appointed to inquire' into the education in foreign countries, that in Austria the exa mination is not only one of intellect, but that personal and physical qualities are taken into consideration. I know that we shall find it very difficult, but we must at tempt it if we wish to arrive at any practical result. I cannot sit down without mentioning the name of one gentleman who more than any one else has been instru mental in bringing this questi forward—l mean Mr. Gleig, the chaplain-gen sal. That gentleman has been one of the principal motive powers in stirring up this question at the War-office ; and when I had the honour of being connected with that department I derived the greatest possible benefit from his advice and assistance, and I have the greatest pleasure now in giving him the credit he so well deserves. (Hear.) I regret, I must say, the delay which has taken place in dealing with this question. During the last year that I had the honour of being Secretary at War, I laid upon the table a plan very much like the one which has now been laid before us, and which I hope will be carried out. Tne late 11011 , 0 of Commons received the plan which I proposed with great indulgence, and, what was more to the purpose, they voted the money for carrying it out ; but, neither last year nor this year have I seen anything about the matter in the estimates. lam willing, however, to exercise patience, and I hope that next year the hon. baronet will be prepared to ask for a vote to carry out a plan which will be satisfactory to the country and ad vantageous to the efficiency of the service. (Rear.) Major WARBUP,TON wished. as a member of one of the instructive corps of the service, which had hitherto received little encouragement, to express the gratifica tion which he had felt at the announcement of the hon. baronet. That announcement would give new life and energy to many an unfriended man in the army, who would now see a fair field open for the development to his abilities, inasmuch, as those valuable appointments which had hitherto been open only to persons who pos sessed interest and connexion would now be open tO all. It was of the greatest importance that the staff college should be open to members of the instructive corps of the service. In the case of the ordnance corps the system of competition had hitherto proved roost successful, and that system would, he hoped, be fully carried out to its utmost ex - ,ent. Sir W. CODRINGTON did not think that compete titive examination for a first commission was advisable, as to establish that principle might shut out from the army that particular class of men who made the best sol diers. As regarded the particular education for the staff, he did not quite understand the ex'ent to which it was proposed,to be carried, and he did not think that it would be worth e bile at present to enter into any de tails upon the subject. The general principle appeared to be admitted that there should be a competition among officers of the line for an entry into the staff college. Now, this difficulty would arise with regard to the staff. Was the staff to be a distinct staff corps fur England, or were omoers to be taken from regiments out of the country I If officers of a regiment on service in India or the colonies were allowed to come home to be examined for staff appointments the effect would be detrimental to the efficiency of the service ; and if they were not allowed t r come home, then bow could the best men throughout the service be chosen by competitive examination ? There were one or two points in the resolution of the gallant general to which ho was not disposed to give his con currence, and one was that part of the resolution which referred to the appointment of a council of education. As he understood the gallant general, his proposal was that the council should be especially under the Secretary for War acting independently of the Commander in Chief, and that its duties should be to examine persons for the Staff, taking away from their regiment for that purpose officers on full pay. He did not think that it was advisable even in matters of a civil nature that the Secretary for War should be able to interfere with the responsibility of the Commander-in-Chief for the education and efficiency of the officers of the army by taking them from their regiments. The result would be a divided authority, and experience had shown the danger of such a division. The establishment of a staff college would cost a very large sum of money, and he hoped that hon. members who were so anxious for the establishment of that system would not hesitate when they were asked to pay the bill. In Austria, h© be lieved, where such a system existed, the annual cost was about 148,0001., and the amount required would be a serious question to discuss is considering the estimate which might be presented to Parliament. No one doubted the advantage of giving an officer as good an education as was possible. Education never did any one any harm ; but it was very difficult to fix the standard, and the house would remember that many men might reach that standard without any of those other qualities which in the army were particularly required. Mention had been made of the appointment of a chief of the staff, and he would therefore briefly refer to the sub j ct. The appointment of a chief of the staff was an imitation of the French system, and in the French army the principle was carried to an extreme degree. Not only was there a chief of the staff of the army generally, but every general division had his chief of the staff. Now, he did not see why a general of division should not be his own chief of the staff and communicate directly with his own Taartermarter-general and adjutant-gene ral. Ile would only add that be was glad to find that the general subject had excited the attention of the Government and that the house had pressed it on, though not unfairly in any way. He hoped, however, that it would nut be carried to such an exclusive degree as to lead to the idea that the practical part of the pro fession of an officer, which, after ail, was the main thine; to keep in view, was to be subordinate to general educa tion. (Rear, hear.) Colonel SYKEd said, as an old soldier, the great thing to be attained in the education of an officer was that he should be competent for the work to which he was to be put. The aim and object of his education should be professional acquirement, and not that he might became a literary coxcomb. Tae examination to which he might be subjected should be as strictly pro fessional as possible, aud, above all things, bona fide, for otherwise it would be a mockery and a delusion. Hav ing passed that examination—not for literary acquire ments, but for professional knowledge—a man entered the army, and the gallant member (.sir De Lacy Evans) proposed that there should afterwards be a competitive examination previous to entering upon the staff. He (Colonel Sykes) thought that a very desirable arrange ment, because hitherto promotion to the staff, as was well known, had depended entirely on family or pecu niary interest, or both, and not upon the qualifications of the individual concerned. (Hear.) At the same time ho thought such an examination should be general as to place, and not exclusively confined to aspirants in any particular locahty. It was only fair that officers serving with regiments ie the colonies and other parts of the world should have equal opportunities afforded them with those at home, of submitting themselves to such examinations. In India they had a system of examina tion somewhat analogous to the one proposed. It was known that no officer could hold a staff appointment until he had passed an examination, not merely as a linguist, but as an interpreter, and there were standing officers appointed in different parts of the country before whom candidates must appear to undergo such an exami nation before they could do staff duty or servo in any detached employment. He thought that some kindred xamination might take place with respect to staff appointments in general. It was not absolutely neces sary that an individual should go into a college to learn the duties of a staff officer. Strategy, for in-tance, and all that kind of knowledge could be obtained without witheaut going into a college for the express purpose of acquiring it. He entirely concurred in the suggestion that it was impolitic that there should be an indiscrimi nate competitive examination Lel re e, t-ring the army at all, but, at the same time he thought it desir able than a certain number of commissions should from time to time to given as prizes to persons who wished to enter the army, and who were willing to com pete for the en. (Rear, hear.) Lord A, CHURCHILL said that an officer should be ' -hove all thingo a gentlmnan if the men serving under hi m :er e to be expected to ' look up to him, and cheer to carry out his orders on all coca fsuifl,lnys.all(L 2 a;: ; lic i 'Y i t ewould do all in his power to forward ‘rs desirous of rising in their proles ,ll,3;nd deseniug men among the non .t..ac; a class, they were not generally li i n n t is e s r . j e o s ,i t ie s e - , i if they were taken out of their ..-' , e ranks would not look up ^fficers of a supe• ' I° l, : c : ( I . ' il l c ' g b ' ' also, i 5 Ilion, ; bin, —. fitted. for that ; natural sphere ths men o them in the same way they did to 1 for grade by birth and education. thougo., would be desirable to offer a certain number of commis sions from time to time for competition in cur great public schools, which would give an Impetus to a well educated dies of young men to enter the army who might otherwise experience s' mo difficulty in obtaining a commission. It would not then be simply the aristo cratic class who would get commissions, but also me❑ who had earned them by their own ability and exertions. It was not, however, only the able mathematician or the skilful constructor of fortifications that made a man a good officer. To be thoroughly efficient in his profes sion he must also have aliberal education, and, as the late Sir Charles Napier had obst:rved, the beet officer, after all, was the English country gentleman. (Hear.) Lord PALMERSTON.—I am sure my hon. and gallant. friend (Sir De Lacy Evans) must be well satis fied with the interesting discussion which his resolution has elicited. The matter is one of the highest interest to the country, and those gentlemen who have expressed their opinions in the course of the discussion are all men who appear by their professional pursuits, or by the attention they have devoted to this interesting topic, to be highly competent to arrive at a sound conclusion in refersn'e to it. Upon the general necessity—l won't even lower it: so far as to call it the expediency—of securing a good education to the officers in the army, I think everybody who has thought for a moment on the subject must be only of one opinion. There is this, however, to be considered, that any examination into merely intellectual attainments can afford you but an imperfect standard as to the qualifications of an indivi dual for military employment. (Hear, bear.) There are three requisites for making a good officer. There is first of all gegeral intelligence, and that ordinary education which a gentleman is supposed to have ob tained ; next, there is proficiency in his profession—in those matters which are thoroughly military, and which do not belong to a general literary education ; and above all, in the third piece, there are those constitutional qualities which are eminently and beyond all others im portant in the composition of an officer. (Cheers.) Un doubtedly my right hon. friend the member for South Wiltshire (Mr. S. Herbert) has observed how 'few great generals the history of this country has recorded. He might have gdneralised that observation and extended it to the whole civilised world, for that combination of constitutional qualities, of military attainments, : and of general knowledge, which united make a great military leader, is perhaps one of the rarest things things you can find in the whole range of human nature—(bear, hear)—and accordingly there are fewer men recorded in history who have been great generals than those who have excelled in other pursuits. The first examination of a young man who is to enter the army ought to be a standard test to show that he has received the liberal education of a gentleman, and that he is possessed of mental and natural qualities which indicate that he is a young man of capacity and industry, and likely to excel in advancing himself in the knowledge of his profession. I think it most essential and wise to propose that the first examination shall not apply to purely military at tainments. A young man of the age to enter the army should be examined upon those general branches of education to which every young man ought to devote his time. (Hear, hear) When he has received his commission, and after he has been a certain time in his regiment, his commanding officer has an opportuniuy of seeing whether he possesses those other qualities which fit him to rise and to distinguish him self in the profession. The cempetitive examination for the staff seems to meet the general approbation of the House. (Hear.) With regard to the strictness of the examination, I quite agree with the right hon. gentle man the member for Wilshire—there is always, in a standard examination, some danger that it will fall too low. I think, however, the arrangements intended to be made, tha,. the examinations are to be conducted by examiners periodically changed, not belonging to any official establishment, and partly civilians and partly military mer e will sufficiently secure that the examina tion shall not fall below the point to which it ought to be reduced. (Hear.) There is in competitive examina tion, on the other hand, the danger of going too high ; and I must submit that in many examinations, not ex. eluding the Universities and other systems, the ex aminers, from the natural feeling that what every man does should be done as well as possiiile pace a little too high the standard to which they submit the competition of candidates. More especially, I should say, with re gard to mathematics, there are limits beyond which no I practical advantage is gained in straining the mind in attaining abstract knowledge, for which in after life • there is no immediate or practical use. (Cheers.) Therefore, a great deal of discretion is required in persons who examine to see that the examination turns upon matters which will be useful in the line which the young man who is, examined is intended to follow, and that he is not taxed beyond the useful amount which he may be expected to attain. The result, if examinations are carried too far, no doubt is that you are hpt to get a young man who is endowed with a very retentive memory, and sometimes to lose a young man whose intellectual resources and whose promptitude and readiness in action would make him the more useful in the service (hear, hear) ; you get a man whose mind is a complex dictionary, instead of a man whose mind is created for energy and action. (Cheers.) In the devising a system applicable to military education, the first part is completed, and, as my lion. friend the Under-Secretary of State for the War Department has said, will be im mediately laid on the table of the House. The remain s ing portions are under consideration, and will, no doubt, be prepared with the same views with which the portion already prepared bas been completed. The resolutions of my hon. and gallant friend seem to me to be a little too much in the affirmation of points still underconsidera tiou. I am quite prepared to agree to the main principles upon which the resolutions are founded. But at the same time when he sees that the council to whom the matter has been referred by her Majesty's Government are still considering many of the points on which his resolutions touch, I would submit to my hon and gallant friend whether he may not either be satisfied with the discussion and wait to see what is proposed in the next session, or, if he feels that this is a matter of such deep interest that he is - anxious the house should record its concurrence with him, by some slight modifications of his resolutions affirm the general prin ciples without tying down the Government to particular points. (Hear.) I will leave hiM to consider which of those two alternatives he thinks best. I can assure him that the Government have at heart the same object which so earnestly and creditably to himself he has ad vocated, and I think, knowing that we both wish the some end, there cannot be much difficulty in agreeing upon the means. (Cheers.) Sir DE L. EVANS said he was very much gratified at the spirit in which the noble lord had met his pro position. He had no intention of proposing an unqualified competitive system to be applied to the whole body of officers, cavalry and infantry. He wished to see an in fusion of competition in education. He understood that the Government intended to infuse that competition with regard to some portion of the officers of the line, and that would meet his views. He did not propose any definite or fixed system, and, as the subj Jet was under considera tion, he would omit a passage in the resolutions which he-hoped would completely meet the wishes of the noble lord. (Hear, hear.) The resolutions were then put and agreed to in this form :-- "That in the opinion of this House a higher standard of professional instruction and more complete provision for it than hitherto deemed requisite ought to be established for the commissioned ranks of the army, but especially for the staff; that this will be best promoted by recourse to competitive examination of officers desiring to qualify themselves for the staff, and by assuring encouragements for proficiency and general fitness for advancement." BANE ACTS. Mr. GREER, who had given notice of his intention to move an instruction to the Select Committee on the Bank'Acts, directing them to extend their inquiry to the operation of any other Acts affecting the currency or banking which might be found to require their special consideration, having risen to address the House. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER stated that the committee on the Bank Acts had that day agreed to report to the House the evidence which they had taken, and it was not their intention to sit again. Mr. GREER said, that he way about to state that as the committee could not act upon instruction during the present session, 'he should withdraw his Motion. Mr. BUCHANAN asked whether it was intended that the report of the committee should be published ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, that the committee had agreed to uo resolUtion except to inform the House that the inquiry was incomp'ete, and to recommend the reappointment of the committee next session. GALWAY WRIT. Col. FRENCH then moved that a new writ be issued for the town of Galway, in room of Mr. O'Flaherty, unseated on petition. Mr. G. CLIVE moved, as an amendment, that an inquiry be made into the existence of corrupt practices during the last as well as former elections for Galway. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL for IRELAND was in favour of issuing a commission. Mr. WHITESIDE asked whether it wal true that the Mr. Browne reported to have taken an active part in the bribery was a professor in Galway College, and if so, whether the Government thought it was proper to con tinue that gentleman in the task of instructing the youth of Ireland in corrupt przeticeA ? Lord PALMERSTON said that was one of the cir cumstances the commission would inquire into. After some further discussion, the amendment was agreed to without a division. COUNTY MAYO, Col. FRENCH then moved a new writ for the county of Mayo, in the room of Mr. Moore, unseated on peti tion. _ . Mr. SCHOLEFIELD moved, as An amendment, that the Attorney-General for Ireland be directed to prose cute the Rev. Peter Conway and the Rev. Luke Ryan for their interference at the election, and that the issue of the writ be suspended during the present session. He nad from the evidence taken befera the committee that these Itt,man Catholic priests had denounced the voters for Col. Higgins at the altar. He did not believe that the heads of the Roman Catholic Church encouraged these altar denunciations. Thii, he said, was not a case of Protestantism against Roman Catholicism, but a ques tion of freedom of election against priestly denunciation. Mr. MAGUIRE asked the house to listen to him while he endeavoured to defend his friend Mr. Moore. He contended that the High Sheriff of the county, who was the father of Col. Higgins, one of th candidates, had exercised the grossest partiality in favour of his son —instances of which he quoted to the amusement of the house. After A good deal of discussion, Lord PALMERSTON said he would vote for the amendment to prosecute the priests and suspend the writ till the question of their guilt was determined, which, he thought, would be, not to punish, but to pro tect the el9ctors of May:). Tile discussion degenerated, as usual in such cases, into a question of personalities between the Attor,ey- General for Ireland and Lord Claud Hamilton, who im peached the learned gentleman's impartiality. On a divi , ion, the motion to issue the writ was re jected by a majority of 153 to 29. Before the vote could be taken on the amendment Dr. BRADY moved that the house do now adjourn, which was negatived by a majority of 149 to 16. The question to prosecute the priests was then put and carried with without a division. The issue of the writ was suspended daring the pre set t session by a majority of 128 to 21. In answer to Mr. SPOONER, Lord PALMERSTON said the Government had re °dyed no further telegraphic or other information from The other orders of the day were disposed of, and the house adjourned. PARLIAMENTARY DIVISION. HOUSE OF COMMONS—JULY 28. GENERAL BOARD OF HEALTH BILL. Order for Committee read ; motion made, and question proposed, " That, Mr. Speaker do now leave the chair." Amendment proposed, to leave out from the word " That" to the end of the question, in order to add the words " this house will, upon this day three months, resolve itself into the said committee,"—instead thereof —question put, " That the words proposed to be left out stand part of the question."—The house divided — Ayes, 98 ; Noes, 73. • AYES-98. Anderson, Sir J. Fitzroy, Hon. H. Monsell, W. Baring, T. Foley, J. Morris, D. Bass, T. Foley, H. B Napier, Sir C. illaxtor, W. Forster, C. Nisbet, Robert Beach, W. Fortescue, F. Norreys, Sir D. Berkeley, Hon. H Fortescue, C. Owen, Sir J. Bethel, Sir R. Freestun, Col. Paget, Lord C. Black, Adam Gaskell, J. Philipps, R. Brady, J. Glyn, G. Powell, F. Brand, H. Gordon, L. Pryse, E. Brown, W. Greer, S. Pritchard, J. Bruce, Lord E. Grenfell, C. Pulle , , C. Buller, J. W. Giey, Sir G. Russell, H. Caird, James Grey, R, Russell, Sir W. Calcutt, M. Griffith, C.. Spooner, R. Castlerosse, Viscount Gurney, S. Stapleton, J. Clay, James Hall, Sir B. Steuart, Andrew Clifford, C. C. Herbert, H. Stuart, Lord J. Coninghaim, W. . Holland, E. Stuart, Colonel Cowper, W. F. Horsfall, T. B. Sallivan, Michael Cotterell, Sir H: Ingram, 11. Tattered, H. Cross, R. Jervoise, Sir J. Thompson, Gen. Davey, R. Langston, J. H. Thornely, T. Dodson, J. Lang ton, H. A. Toilemache, Fred. Dunbar, Sir W. Leviuge, Sir R. ' Trelawny, Sir J. Duncan, Viscount Lewis, Sir G. C. Villiers, C. Dunlop, A. Mackie, J. Warburton, G. Ebrington, Viscount Marsh, M. Warre, J. Elton, Sir A. Marshall, W. Williams, Sir W Ennis, John , Martin, C. Wilson, J. Evans, T. W. Martin, P. Worsley, Lord Fagan, W. Massey, W. TELLES& Ferguson, Sir R. Weigand, Viscount Hayter, W. Fitzgerald, J. Moncreiff, J. Mulgrave, Earl ----- NOES-73. A dderley, C. Gard, R. Noel, G. Arbuthnott, Gen. Gladstone, W. North, Col. J. Bailey, C. Gray, Captain \ Ossuiston, Lord Bernard, W. Hackblock, W. Falk, L . Beecroft, G. Hadfield, G. Palmer, Captain Bentinck, G. Hamilton, Lord C. Pechell, Sir G. Biggs, J. Hankey, T. Pilkington, J. Blackburn, Peter Harty, G. Platt, James Boldero, Col. H. G. Barris, J. Schneider, U. Bridges. Sir B. Heathcote, Sir W. Scott, Capt, Buller, sir J. Henley, J. Smith, A: Butler, C. Hildyard, R. C. Taylor, Col. Carden, Sir R. W. Hope, A. Trefusis, C. Close M. Hopwood, John Verner, Sir W. Cole, H. A. Hornly, W. Vivian, H. H. Collins, T. Jackson, W. Westhead, J. Cox William Jolliffe, Sir W. White, J. Darner, L. Kershaw, J. Whitmore, U. Denison, W. H. Lennax, Lot d H. Willcox, B. Dillwyn, L. Locke, John Williams, W. Dod, J. W. Lygon, Hon. F. Wise, J. Duncombe, T. Macartney, G. Egerton, W. Montgomery, Sir G. Farquhar, Sir M. Mowbray, J. R. Finlay, A. Napier, J. FitzUerald, W. R. S. Newdegate, C. TELLERS. Knight, F. Ayrton, A. Country Market?, LIVERPOOL-JULY 28. The few millers and dealers at our Corn Exchange this, morning were earnest buyers of wheat for the passing con sumption, and made a fair basiness at the full prices of Tuesday last. In some instances an advance of 2d to 34' per bushel for red wheat. Flour a dragging sale, anti prices unimproved. Indian corn dull of sale, but quota tions unchanged. Oats, barley, beans, and peas were Wl' altered in value. HULL- JULY 28. A small attendance at our market to-day, and there has been only a small show of wheat. There was some disposition to buy on the part of millers, but on the whole the business done was only small. Foreign firm, but fest buyers. Spring corn a retail business, and no alteration in value. Wheat, English red, 62s to 63s ; white 64s to 66s • oats, 28s to 30s barley, 40s to 46s ; Indian corn, 40s ; linseed cakes, Hull, 10112 s 6d to 101 15s ; ditto, foreign, 81 to 15s ; rape cakes, 6155. to 6/ 7s 64 ; guano, FL to 13/. 103; bones, 147 s 6d.; Sour, 30s to 325; tares, 30s to 40s. LEEDS, JULY 28. We are fairly supplied with wheat. Holders are fircu in demanding within is per qr. of last Frid a y' s ra t es , but millers require a greater reduction ; the result is that scarcely any liminess is transacted. BarLy nominal. Beans fully as dear. Other articles unaltered. We eou• tinue to have very favourable weather. Average prices of grain—Wheat, 65s —d ; bailey, Od ; oats, 31s —d ; beans, 46s —d ; peas, 40s sa; rye, —s. Od. NEWCASTLE—JuIy 28. A small supply of farmers' wheat, which was cleared of f at is to 2s per quarter advance en Saturday's rates. South country and foreign in better demand, and is more alone/ obtained. Other articles unchanged. COURSE OF EXCHANGE.-YESTERDA.T. imsterdam ...........• 11 17% Gibraltar ....• .• •• • • •..• „ a Ditto, three months .. 12 Leghorn ..........2 9 .., 2.otterdan4 .. .. .. .• •• .. 12 Genoa Antwerp .............. 25 4234 klilan ...... ••—.. • . •• 3russels .... • • ........ 25 4234 Venice.... -- R 3 .2 N . ;,lp; Elamburgh •• •• •• •• •• • • 13 •• •• •• ..... ••• Altona •• •• •• •• •• •• •• • • Palermo .... Paris •••• • • • • •• •••••• 25 27 Messina •• Ditto. three months .. 25 6234 Lisboq 52% Marseilles .• • ••. •••••••• 25 65 Oporto .• •• ••••••• • • • •• t 2 M Bourdeaux .. • • .• Rio Janeiro ...... • • .... Frankfort-on-Maine •• .. 119% Buenos Ayre5........ .. • • New York,6o days' sight Vienna .• •• •• •• •••••• •• 10 31 Philadelphia •• • • ...... Trieste.... •••••• •• • • Are 10 32 PRICES OF BULLION, PEI OZ' ;„ Petersbu . 36% Foreign Gold in Bars £3 17 y, Madridrg •• .• 48% Portugal Gold Coin .. 00 v Cadiz ........ .. ..., Mexican Dollars 0 0 0 B Ircelont • • •• •••• •.•... New Dollars ....., 0 0 Silver in bars ...... 0 0 0 The suspension was announced yesterday of the house of Mr. J. P. Giustiniani, a Greek merchant, witb . Pt 1 1:, gagements estimated at from 250,000/. t o 300 , 0001. "' business was principAlly with Constantinople and Par' / :, and he was largely engaged du r i ng th e R u . s i an w ar supplying steam-vessseli to the Turkish Governmee' In the course of the afternoon statements were cir c a lated that the existing- difficulties would be remove before the end of the day, but these were not fulfil [ADVERTISEMENT.]-Du Barry's delicious Revalenta Arab' o , Food invariably restores health, without medicine, incon/ nience, or expense, as it saves fifty times its cost 10 , other remedies, and removes indigestion (dyspepsi 3 /' flatulency, constipation, nervous, bilious, and li ver co' plaints, cough, asthma,l comma plaints, consumption, and &Witt' We extract a few out of 50,000 testimonials of cures which had resisted all medicines. Cure N o . 4 , 208 . —Eig; years' dyspepsia, nervousness, debility, with cramps, spaeu 3. 4 and nausea, have been effectually remove d b y D n BarrY„" delicious food in a very short ti me. —R ev. John W . Fla - Ye'" Ridlington Rectory, Norfolk. F rom the Dowager ConuteP , of Castlestuart.—Cure 5 2,612.—Rosstrevor, County of Doff Ireland, 9th December, 1854.—The Dowager Countess ° Castlestuart feels induced, in the interest of suffering huO c i nity, to state that Du Barry'sexcellent RevalentaArabica F° C has cured her, after all medicines had failed, of indigestie ., ,'" bile, great nervo usnessan d i rr i ta bili ty o f many years ' standieb; This food deserves the confidence of all sufferers, and maY considered a blessing. Inquiries will be cheerfully answer° Supported by testimonials from the celebrated Professors ° Chemistry, Dr. Andrew Ure ; Dr. Shorland ; Dr. Harvey Dr. Campbell; Dr. Gattiker ; Dr. Wurzer ; Dr. Ingrav l ' Lord Stuart de Decies; the Dowager Countess of Castil e stuart; Major-Gen. Thomas King, and many other respecta bh ., persons, whose health has been restored by it, after all otll 6 ' means of cure had failed. Suitably packed with full 11 , 1 : structions. In canisters, 11b, 2s. 9d. ; 21b, 4s. 6d. ; 5 1 "' 11s; 121 b, 225. The 121 b canisters are sent carriage fre e ' on receipt of Post-Office order.—Barry Du Barry, dr C (1 1, 77, Regent-street, London. IMPOUTANT CAUTION against til l " fearful dangers of spurious imitations : —The Vi ce •Chancr, for Sir William Page Wood granted an I n j unc ti on o n ti j ; 10th March, 1854, again s t Alf re d H ooper N ev iil , f or imitat'n' 'Du Barry's Revalenta Arabica Food B!I R T OF A SON. On the 27th inst., at Charlton, Kent, the wife of CaP l - 31° Henry Townshend Boultbee, Royal Artillery. On the 27th inst., the wife of Joseph Clarke, Esq., 1$ Stratford-place. OF A DAMN:ITER. On the 2,1 2 th inst., at Bromley, Kent, the wife of. T. Scudamore, Esq. On the 26th inst., at Prince's-street, Cavendish-square: tha wife of James Utten Easson, Esq. MARRIED. Vi ro * On the 24th inst., at St. Ge orge ' s, Hanover-squares to Hope Vere, Esq., of Craigie Hall and Blackwood, N. 8 ., Lady Mary Boyle, sister of the Earl of Cork and Orrery 1. 4, n the 25th inst., a t St . J o h n ' s, Paddington, Capt. E d wt, B. Prescott, 334 Re g t., thi r d son of Frederick J. Pres to Esq., of 13, Oxfo r d- square, to Sophia Victoria, the youpg't o daughter of William Cox, Esq., of 20, Glocester-cres een Hyde-park. DIED. Mr. On the 27th inst., at Vine Cottage, Hyde, Kingsbury , Edward Oldfield, god 57. es" On the 28th inst., Mr. Thomas Edward Death, of COO well, formerly of the city, aged 70. the On the 27th inst., at 10, St. John's-wood-park, Emma, wde of Mr. Joseph Hood. • al On the 26th in t., at Armiston, Mrs. Eliza Hunter, voci of the late Rev. James Nicol, minister of Leslie. the On the 24th inst., at Orton Hall, Westmoreland, J -311e, . wird of W. F. Hamilton, Esq., Major Royal Renfrew' and late of 9th Highlanders. late On tho 4 7 th in st., Robert A. Strange, fifth son of the 0, Sir Thomas A. Strange, formerly Chief Justice of Mad° aged 35. LONDON : Printed and Published by MURDO ,rigO of No, 112, Strand, Printer, at 7'he Sun 0111 070 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in tb° CO." of Middlesex, Wednesday, July 29, 1857. itlili Miran( Offices. and G E Thrc Comp s Fift3 Part ,otnp a street. 1 0th Pros r ittt oi' FREIC Nc and oil tremor thority be pro be obta The i to the 1 descrip Piinctp produc Poultr: nashel every and ar, To 1 Agente ficMare \ ram ?axes Padd.i G tItI.-:1 ton, at 1 5.30 D . Penhat ......_____ Ti The rate or are re a and 4. so U I nd all and by Perfeci The beard Sold tondo and 8 ( Chant ] }LB and pi In t after AL on P rec on 1)11 Chlr. 3ISt Work . con lon Etrq no, Wh