The Press.
London, England, 1855-06-23 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

have at once it'll

on the Customs, the

other on the management of the Exchequer—a re-
form which, with the assistance of himself and his

friends, had been effected by his successors. Retain-
ing his opinion that great changes were necessary in
our administrative system, he thought that entrance
into the civil service should be the result of substan-
tial and real tests of fitness, that the services should
be better rewarded, and be made a distinct profes•
sion. But all this should have been preceded by a
commission, that it might have been carried out upon
definite ideas; and he believed that if he had had
the opportunity of issuing that commission the civil
service would now have been in a very different state
from what it was actually. Adverting to the terms
of Mr. Layard's motion, he could not agree that our
late disasters were attributable to routine, but rather
to an incapable Government, unconnected by the
mutual sympathy and private regard necessary to the
success of any Cabinet. The amendment of Sir B.
Lytton received his entire adhesion ; it expressed
precisely the policy which Lord Derby's Government
were prepared to recommend. If the present Go-
vernment likewise adopted it in the spirit of sincerity
and truth, it was bound to act accordingly—to issue
a royal commission, and from its report to draw out
regulations for the conduct of the public offices, and
for those regulations to obtain a parliamentary
sanction. He would not destroy the system of patnn-
age ; though merit should be the test of promotion.
The judges of that merit should be the Ministers of
the Crown, and the judgment should not be left to a
fanciful system of competition foreign to the genius
of the country. He argued that the perception of
the fitness of individuals for the places was one of
the first qualifications of a Prime Minister. He could
see little in the precedents of the present Ministry
to induce him to believe that it intended to deal se-
riously with the question they had brought forward
on crude measures for the army ; and for the civil
service they had done nothing. He criticised in
some detail certain late appointments, whereby he
said men not superior to those already in civil
offices, and not themselves trained to those offices,
had been placed in situations where they excited the
indignation of tried public servants who had then
been overlooked. The Government might adopt the
amendment; but if it was serious it should long ago
have taken a course which would have anticipated
the decision of the house, and discounted the de-
mands of the people. He concluded by a vigorous
declamation on the conduct and position of the
Ministry, the manner in which they had been placed
in power, and the restricted basis on which they
conducted it, after they had assumed it on the prin-
ciples of a broad-bottomed and extended Adminis-
tration.

Lord PALMERSTON began by replying to Mr.
Layard's speech at Drury Lane where he had
charged him with jesting at the sufferings of the
people—a charge which he most indignantly denied.
He proceeded to defend the composition of his Go-
vernment, no member of which, he said, was related
to him by any family ties. As to the charges in Mr.
Layard's speech in that house, those on the army
were already disposed of by Mr. Peel. To those on
the diplomatic service he was himself an answer.
He had been made Under-Secretary of State neither
from family connections nor adherence to routine.
He defended the diplomatic body from the aspersions
which bad been cast upon them. Coming then to
the attack of Mr. Disraeli, he denied the right of his
Government to take credit for reforms which they
had never carried out, claimed for his own the merit
of having realised his intentions, and said that what
it had done was underrated, and what it had to do
was undefined. It had made examinations a reality—
but examinations must not be trusted too far, nor
would throwing them open always secure first-rate
men, who would be attracted by more lucrative and
promising professions. After defending the appoint•
ments attacked by Mr. Disraeli, he promised the
earnest attention of his Government to Adininistra
tive Reform, saying that it could have no possible in-
ducement to follow any other course, detailed what
had been already done, and dilated on the inquiry,
time, and consideration necessary before all could
be done that was required. He accepted the resolu-
tion of Sir B. Lytton in perfect sincerity, as a pledge
that the Government would direct its most serious
attention to a continued revision of the civil offices of
the State.
An attempt was now made to adjourn the debate,
but it failed, and after Mr. LAYARD had said a few
words in reply, his motion was rejected by 859 to 46.
On Thursday Sir E. Lytton's amendment was
adopted at the close of the evening without any dis-
cussion, and with a single dissentient voice.
CAPTAIN MACLURE.

A committee to inquire into the propriety of grant-
ing a reward to this gallant navigator for his services
in the Arctic Seas was on Tuesday moved for by Mr.
lilAcxEsziE, and assented to by Lord P.iMERSTON,
who passed a warm eulogium on the perseverance,
courage, and daring of Captain Madura.