The Press.
London, England, 1856-05-10 00:00:00

GENERAL WILLIAMS.

Earl GRANVILLE in the Lords, and Lord PALimas-
TON in the Commons, ou Thursday, presented a
message from the Queen, in which her Majesty in-
formed the houses that, being desirous of con-

';

439

ferring a mark of her approbation on General
Williams for his eminent services as her Majesty's
commissioner, and particularly for his gallant do.
fence of Kars, she had been pleased to secure to Sir
William Williams a pension 0f.1,0001. per annum for
the term of his natural life. The noble lords, in
moving that her Majesty's gracious message be
taken into consideration on Friday, added that her
Majesty had been graciously pleased to give direc-
tions that the dignity of baronet should be conferred
upon Sir William Williams, by the style and title of
Sir William Williams of Kars.
The announcement was received in both houses
with loud cheers.

THANKS TO THE ARMY, NAVY, AND
MARINES.

Lord PANIII:RE, on Thursday; rose to move:—
That the thanks of this house be given to the officers of
the navy, army, and Royal Marines who have taken part in
the operations of the late war, fur the meritorious and
eminent services which they have rendered to the Queen
and the country during the course of the war.
That this house doth highly approve and acknowledge
the services of the petty and non-commissioned officers and
men of the navy, army, and Royal Marines who have taken
part in the operations of the late war ; and that the same
be communicated to them by the commanders of the
several ships and corps, who are respectively desired to
thank those under their commands for their exemplary and
gallant behaviour.
That the thanks of this house be given to the officers of
the several corns of militia which have been embodied in
Great Britain and Ireland during the course of the war,
for the zealous and meritorious services which, at home
and abroad, they have rendered to their Queen and country.
That this house doth highly approve and acknowledge
the services of the non-commissioned officers and men of
the several corps of militia which have been embodied in
Great Britain or Ireland during the course of the war, and
that the same be communicated to them by the command-
ing officers of the several corps, who are desired to thank
them for their patriotic conduct.
The noble lord, in enumerating the services of the
army, navy, and foreign legionaries engaged in the late
war, commenced with the navy, and claimed for them
the gratitude of the country for their services in the
Baltic, the Black Sea, and the Sea of Azoff, and the
valuable assistance rendered by them on every occa-
sion to the army. Besides these services, the navy had
furnished transport for 435,000 men, 51,000 horses,
and 310,000 tons of stores. Lord Panmure, paying
a tribute to the zeal of Admiral Boxer at Bala klava,
as the first man to organise an admirable system in
that harbour, proceeded briefly to touch upon the
gallant services of the army, and paid a high tribute
to the talents and exertions of Lord Raglan; and con-
fining himself almost entirely to the comparative
state of health of the forces in the Crimea and at
home, he read from official returns a statement of the
losses made up to the 31st of March last, by which it
appeared our total losses from every cause, killed in
action and deaths from wounds and disease,
amounted to 270 officers and 22,460 men. The
noble lord then alluded to the Foreign Legions, which
amounted now to 15,790 men, stated that they were
admirably organised and disciplined, and expressed a
hope that when the time came to dispense with their
services, we should treat them in such a manner as
would do credit to the English name. Lord Pan-
more next adverted to the services of the militia,
which had given 33,000 to the regular army, and said
he truste.l that the force would not be permitted to
subside, nor lose its present efficiency; and, with an
expression of approbation of the cordial assistance
derived from our allies, concluded by an appeal to the
house not to hastily desire a general reduction of our
forces :

Before I sit down T would earnestly entreat your lord-
ships, now that peace is restored, not to be in a hurry to
weaken that imposing navy which has been collected after
two years of war, or to part with that fine atm noble army
which we have now on foot. We cannot forget that at the
commencement of this war, to use the mildest language,
we found the greatest inconvenience frog the want of in-
struction under which our officers were labouring, and
from their being unaccustomed to mare our troops in any-
thing like masses. You have now an army formed in
masses ; let me advise you to keep it. (Hear, hear.) Yon
have now an army formed in divisions end brigades ; let
me advise and entreat your lordships not to lose sight of
that formation, but to instruct your officers and men in
the movement of these bodies, and to keep them accus-
tomed to them. Above all, I entreat you, now that peace
has begun, not to rush back to that false economy of
former times, for which I blame no Government in parti-
cular, for all were equally to blame. We have learned a
lesson from the late war, and I trust that that lesson will
not be forgotten. A fair and proper economy ought of
course to be observed, but I hope we shall not be in a
hurry to revert to that false economy which, in truth, when
an army has to be raised to a war standing, is the cause of
much additional and unnecessary outlay. If at the be-
ginning of this war our army had been as efficiently
organised as it is at the present moment, we could have
increased it at much less expense and with much more
rapidity. I hope, therefore, that the country will not give
way to the I,leasures of a false economy, but will main-
tain the army in such a state of organisation and discipline
as shall enable us at any moment (should occasion arise)
to place it on a war footing in the most rpoody sad eel .

..all.

A

cient manner, without having, as we have hod, within the
last two years, almost to create a new army from the
beginning
The Earl of DERBY seconded the motion. What-
ever difference of opinion there might be on the
merits of the terms of peace, or the results achieved
by the army and navy, there could be none as to the
courage and devotion of the land and sea forces, nor
any difficulty in acknowledging their services. He
heartily concurred in the tribute of praise paid to the
memory of Lord Raglan ; the eulogium of Lord Pan•
mitre did not extend, but rather fell short of the
merits of that great man. The conduct of the army
deserved the highest praise :

No word of mine—no word that can be uttered—can do
justice to the services of that noble army, whose devoted
gallantry in the field, whose maim:bin courage in the
hour of battle, and, above all, whose patient heroism in the
midst of disease, famine, and privations of every descrip-
tion—keeping alive under all difficulties and discourage-
molts not only the strictest discipline, but the most fear-
less valuer and the most unhesitating devotion to duty—
reflect more credit upon them than any army ever gained
before. (Cheers.)
The services of the fleet were confined for want of
opportunity ; but no one would deny that great zeal,
great energy, and great courage bed been shown at all
tunes, particularly in the naval brigade, where courage
almost reckless, and exertions almost superhuman,
justly excited the admiration of the whole army. He
regretted that Lord Panmure had omitted to notice
the services of the marines, a most valuable body of
men, and who, on the heights of Balaklava, rendered
most effectual aid. With respect to the Foreign
Legions, he thought they should, on disbandment, be
liberally rewarded ; and he trusteid, that the house
would not hastilidispeaSe with the services of tl}e
militia, not• neglect to keep up an efficient organisa-
tion of our forces:—
I know that in a time of peace you cannot keep the
militia regiments permanently embodied, nor do I think
it desirable that you should do so ; but I trust. that we
shall not again fall into the error of suffering the skeletons
of those regiments to crumble to pieces—of allowing the
staff to be disorganised—and of neglecting to retain such
a nucleus of each regiment as, called out everyyear, or at
all events once in two years, for a limited period of service,
may, in the first place, keep alive the skeletons of the mili-
tia system, to be clothed and filled up when occasion
should occur ; and, in the next, maintain among the men
that military feeling and those habits of discipline which
must enable theta in the hour of peril to render good ser-
vice to their Sovereign and their country. (Cheers.) I
entirely concur in the concluding observation of the noble
lord, both in regard to the militia and the regular army,
that nothing can be such false economy as hastily to do
away with your present establishments. Reduction, and
that, too, on a large scale, must undoubtedly take place ;
but, in the meantime, however you diminish numbers, keep
up the efficiency of your present system—keep your im-
proved organisation complete, and retain your men, not
merely as an agglomeration of regiments, as at the com-
mencement of the war, but as an army which, though not
numerous, is regularly embodied into divisions and bei-
pules, habituated to act in cuncert, and ready, in the event
of the return of hostilities. to avail itself without eonffislon
of those numerical reinftevements which the spirit of the