The Press.
London, England, 1858-04-17 00:00:00

Voilitlcal.

CABINET COUNCILS were held at the official resi.
dense of the Chancellor of the Exchequer on Satur-
day and Wednesday last. The Ministers presen
were—the Earl of Derby, the Lord Chancellor, the
Eiul of Hardwicke, the Right Hon. B. Disraeli, Mr.
Secretary Walpole, the Earl of Malmesbury, Lord
Stanley, General Peel, Sir John Pakington, the Right
Hon. W. J. Henley, and Lord John Manners.

Maaaaat PELISSIER, Duke of Malakoff, and km-
baisador from the Imperial Court of icsuce th•

i

Vrattbings in V arlianunt.

HOUSE OF LORDS—MOND-4.Y.
SCOTCH UNIVERSITIES.
The Earl of DERBY, in answer to a question from
Lord Campbell, stated that the Lord Advocate was
preparing a bill for the improvement of the Scotch
Universities.

TRANSFER OF ESTATES BILL.
On considering the Report of Amendments on the
Transfer of Estates Simplification Bill,
Lord CRANWOBTH moved the rejection of the first
clause of the bill, and the twelve clauses following
and depending on it. After some discussion, in
which the clauses were opposed by the Loan CHAN-
CELLOR and the Earl of DERBY, they were negatived
without a division. The report was then received.
The order for going into committee on the Law
of Property Amendment Bill was discharged, on the
motion of Lord ST. LEONARDS.
Their lordships then adjourned.
HOUSE OF COMMONS—MONDAY.

Mr. STUART WORTLEY took tha oaths and his seat
for Batoshire.

THE CASE OF THE " CAGLIARI."

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, in reply to
Mr. Headlam, said that some very important docu-
ments with respect to the case arrived only on
Saturday morning last. They had been submitted
to the law officers of the Crown, and in consequence
of the arrival of those documents he was not able
that day specifically to state to the house the opinion
at which the law officers had arrived, but ho trusted
to be able to do so soon.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that if
progress were made that night and on Friday with the
votes for the great services, he should then make the
financial statement on that day week (April the 19th).
He had already fixed for that day the second read-
ing of the East India Bill ; but of course it would
now be necessary to make another arrangement with
respect to that measure, and he should propose the
second reading on the earliest day possible after the
financial statement.

OF INDIA.

On the report of the Committee of Supply,
Lord J. RUSSELL, adverting to the Government of
India Bill, and to the objections which, he said, it
had generally provoked, observed that if the bill was
pressed to a second reading, and all those objections
were discussed, that discussion must necessarily
partake of a party character, and would, in his opi-
nion, have injurious effects. The question was one
of the deepest interest, and he thought it most
desirable that some method should be devised, if
possible, by which the house could arrive at a con-
clusion as to what its opinion was in reference to the
future government of India, without raising debate of
the character he had mentioned :

Now, in referring to what took place on former occasions,
I find that the greatest change, perhaps, that has been
made since 1784 is the change made in 1813, when the
East India Company were deprived of their monopoly, and
the system of restriction was changed to one of free trade.
On that occasion Lord Cutlereagh introduced into this
house, in a committee of the whole house, a series of
resolutions on which a bill was founded; and Lord Liver-
pool, in the other house, in stating the course to be
adopted, said that it was an advantage that all the main
propositions should be placed under several heads; that
each head should be fairly and fully discussed, and that the
resolutions should be afterwards submitted to the House
of Lords, for then the two houses might agree on general
principles before the bill was introduced. That coarse,
no doubt, involved considerable discussion in committee
of the house, but when the resolutions were agreed to very
little discussion took place ou the bill, which passed in
the course of the same session.
This seemed to him the most convenient course for
the house to take on the present occasion, and he
thought it would gain time in the end. If the Go-
vernment did not think fit to adopt this course, he
felt so strongly the great inconvenience and the great
difficulty of discussing at once any bill upon this
subject, that be should be prepared to propose resolu•
Lions embodying the chief points of a measure for
the government of India.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER observed that
it must be obvious that the proposition of Lord J.
Russell was a very convenient one, and he admitted
that it was conducive to the public interests; but
the late Government having proceeded by way of
bill, and as it seemed to be the general feeling of
the house that no unnecessary delay should take
Place, the present Administration had brought for-
ward the plan they recommended in the shape of a
bill. By Proceeding in the way of resolutions a
better opportunity would be offered for discussing
the essential principles of the measure ; at the same
time, the house must feel that if that course should
be adopted there ought to be no avoidable delay.
On the part of the Government, he would not shrink
from ProPOldha resolutions) unless (which would be

THE PRESS, APRIL 17,1858.

more agreeable to himself) Lord J. Russell would do
so, for which purpose a day should be at his service.
The earliest day should be fixed for discussing them,
and he suggested that day fortnight or the Friday
following
I believe the course be recommends is one which will
be conducive to the public interests, for we shall then
have an opportunity of expressing a formal and mature
opinion upon those points respecting whicb great miscon-
ception exists as to the plan proposed by the present
Government. I cannot bat believe that if we had an ample
and complete discussion upon all the principles involved
in the transfer of the government of India from the East
India Company to her Majesty--as to whether undivided
responsibility should be intrusted to any officer, whether
he should be assisted by a council or not, whether such
council should be purely nominative or partially elective,
what should be its mode of procedure and what its duties—
the task of legislation would afterwards be comparatively
easy. I hope I may be allowed to express my wish and
expectation that if the course suggested by the noble lord
should be adopted the important question of the govern-
ment of India will not only be most amply and completely
discussed, with the advantage of the knowledge and ex-
perience possessed by many members of this house, but
that the discussion will be devoid of any party feeling—
( Hear, hear)—and that when we have arrived at a conclu-
sion, whatever it ma) be, upon the principles of govern-
ment to be applied to India, the country will be satisfied
that the plan upon which we may determine will oonduce
to the " safety, honour, and welfare of her Majesty and her
dominions " (Cheers.)

Lord J. RUSSELL said, although he had offered to
propose resolutions, it was an office which belonged
properly to the Government.
Sir C. Woon insisted that the resolutions should
be proposed with the authority and on the respon-
sibility of the Government. He was surprised, he
said, that Mr. Disraeli should have admitted the
possibility of the Government delegating its func-
tions in this matter to any individual member. He
was not so clear as Lord John Russell as to the ad-
vantage of proceeding by way of resolutions. The
precedent of 1813 he did not consider to be appli-
cable to the present case.
Mr. ELLICE concurred with Sir C. Wood in think-
ing that whatever proposition was made, it, should
come from the Government.

Mr. WALPOLE observed that both the preceding
speakers had mistaken the purport and intention of
the remarks of Mr. Disraeli, who had said that he
would not shrink from the responsibility of pro-
posing the resolutions—a function which he (Mr.
Walpole) admitted properly belonged to the Execu-
tive Government. The house being in possession
of the two bills, it did not become the Government
to abandon their bill unless the house should be of
opinion that the mode of proceeding by way of reso-
lutions was preferable. It never was the intention
of the Government to abdicate their proper function
and responsibility.
Lord PALKERSTON said he was so deeply impressed
with the importance of the question as to the future
government of India that be should prefer leaving
things as they were for another year to passing a
bill containing a bad organization. As to the ques-
tion immediately before the house, he thought the
method of proceeding by way of resolutions not
applicable to the present state of things ; that it was
contrary to the ordinary practice of the house, and
would be an inconvenient precedent.

The CHANCELLOR of the ExcHEquER :
I simply wish to make an explanation in consequence of
some remarks which fell from the right hon. baronet the
member for Halifax ( Sir C. Wood), who has misconceived
the expressions I used if he supposed that I intimated any
desire to abdicate the duties which I ought to perform
either upon this or any other subject. (Hear, hear.) But,
having been the organ of the Government in introducing
a bill upon this subject, and the noble lord the member for
the city of London rising in his place and expressing an
intention of recommending some propositions or resolu-
tions, I thought, and upon reflection I still think, I should
have been guilty of the utmost arrogance if, under the cir-
cumstances, I had risen and told the noble lord that I
could not give him the opportunity he asked for. (Hear,
hear.) I could not undertake that' responsibility, and if I
had adopted any other course than that which I did I
should, in my opinion, have acted in a manner inconsistent
with the forms of the house and the character of a ger_ile-
man. (Hear, hear.) I may add that I shall place these
resolutions upon the table of the house as speedily as
possible, in order that the house may have ample time to
consider them before discussing them, and I shall propose
that upon this day fortnight these resolutions shall be
moved. (Cheers.)

Mr. Bouvaam complained of the course proposed
as being totally unprecedented. Were the resolu-
tions, he asked, to be different from the bill or not?
If different, was the bili to be given up; or were
there to be three distinct propositions 'before the
house?

Sir B. lists, asked Mr. Disraeli whether he in-
tended to abandon his bill.

Mr. Holmium observed that the two bills conveyed
to his mind a sense of the inherent difficulties of
this question. The course taken by the house had
been unprecedented; it proposed to make a great
change, to frame a new government for our Indian
empire, which had to be re-established without any

375

preliminary inquiry whatever. He agreed with Lord
Palmerston that the inconvenience of prolonging the
present state of things for another year was preferable
to the evils of hasty legislation. Neither of the two
bills was satisfactory.
Sir B. Harr. having repeated his question,
The CissucELLos of the EXCHEQUER said :

I can only answer that question with the permission of
the house, Lying already spoken on the subject now before
it. It is my intention at present, as I think it is the
general wish of the house, to propose certain resolutions,
and to do so on this day fortnight. It certainly never
entered my imagination to give up the bill which I had the
honour of introducing, and I have a lively conviction that
the result of discussing these resolutions will be to effect
such a change—if change be indeed necessary—in the
general opinion of the house as that the bill will in its
general spirit be adopted, and that we shall carry it by a
considerable majority, modified, no doubt, by the criti-
cisms which are brought out in that discussion. (Hear,
hear.) I dare say the bill may be very much changed, but
have no doubt that, improved as it will be by the united
experience of the house in this discussion, the bill will
ultimately become the law of the land. (Hear, hear.)
The report was then agreed to.
NAVY AND ARMY ESUWATES.

On the motion that the house go into a Committee
of Supply on the Navy Estimates,
Mr. W. WiLuAms moved as an amendment that
the Navy and Army Estimates be referred to a select
co mmittee.

Sir Joi; PAICINGTON briefly opposed the amend-
ment, which was negatived on a diviviot by a ma-
jority of 161 to 24.

NAVY

The house then went into committee, and Sir
JOHN PAZINOTON rose to propose the Navy Estimates.
The First Lord of the Admiralty prefaced the first
vote with a detailed explanation of the present state
and proposed modifications of the British navy. The
total force voted for 1857-8 amounted to 35,000
officers, seamen, and boys, 2,000 men for surveying
service, and 5,700 for the Coastguard—in all 55,700
men. That force he proposed to increase by 2,000
officers and seamen, and 1,000 men for the Coast-
guard service ; but even this increase fell short by
1,300 men of the hands actually required to man the
home ships now in commission, for, although our
squadrons on foreign service were in a most efficient
state, the position of the navy at home was not so
satisfactory :

While, however, I make that statement, I think (added
Sir John Pakington) I may confidently say that in some
important respects this country is in a better position with
respect to the manning of her navy than that in which she
stood some time since, and I believe it requires nothing
more than a fair degree of liberality upon the part of the
House of Commons to place that important subject upon
a most satisfactory footing. (Cheers.)
Yet that we should have to rely entirely upon our
Coastguard service for the defence of our shores in
a case of emergency was not satisfactory
How, then, are we to deal with this most important point?
I am in hopes we may be able to do so in an efficient man-
ner by the judicious extension of the system of continuous
service men. ( Hear, hear.) I cannot too strongly lament
the course which was taken by the right hon. baronet oppo-
site last year in allowing no less than 3,000 men serving
on board our ships, and enlisted as continuous service
men, to be discharged from the navy, and thus lost to the
country. (Hear, bear.) lam unwilling to speak of the
conduct of the right hon. baronet in the language of cen-
sure, and I am perfectly well aware of the pressure which
wu exercised upon the Government last year by the cry of
economy which was raised throughout the country. I can-
not, however, help wishing that the right hon. baronet bad
had the wisdom and the firmness to say, in answer to that
cry, that the great interests of England ought not to be tam-
pered with, and that the nation ought not to have receded
from the bargain into which it had entered. (Hear, hear.)
We had when the right hon. baronet took the step to which
I allude a reserve force of between 23,000 and 24,000 con-
tinuous service men. Under the pressure of the cry of
economy, however, the Government signified to those men
that any of them who wished to have their discharge might
obtain it. The practical result was that out of 5,000 or
8,000 of them who happened to be in our home ports no
less than 3,000 were lost to the country, and that number
has never since been made up. (Hear, bear.) Bat that
is not all. The worst consequence of the unhappy step
which was taken by the late Government was the moral
effect which it produced upon the men themselves. It was
regarded by them in the light of a breach of faith. They
said, "You have enlisted us for a period of ten years. We
are still willing to serve you; yet you tell us to go about our
business." ( Hear, hear.) The result has been most un-
fortunate. We must endeavour to retrace our course, and,
if possible, to regain the position which we occupied. In
the attainment of that object we have to some extent suc-
ceeded, inasmuch as the number of the continuance service
men amounts at present to about 22,000. The aim of those
who are intrusted with the management of the naval affairs
should be, as it appears to me, while maintaining the mi-
nimum amount of force necessary for the protection and
service of the country, to take care that all the seamen
should be entered for continuous service. (Hear, hear. )
Sir John Pakington then described the means the
Government intended to adopt to secure a regular
supply of seamen for the royal navy
The strengtt. of the navy must, of course, vary according
to the state of public affairs, and there must always be a