The Press.
London, England, 1856-06-07 00:00:00

THE STATE OF GREECE.

Mr. JAMES MACGREGOR, on Monday, called the
attention of the house to the present lamentable
state of Greece, and particularly with respect to the
gross financial mismanagement of the Greek Govern-
ment, which entailed upon England a charge of
47,0001. a year for interest on the Greek loan. Since
the commencement of the late war military posses-
sion had been taken of the Pirteus ; and he wanted to
know what was to result from this occupation. Was
England to be relieved of the payment of this
47,0001. a year ? was the present Greek Government
to be supported? or, in line, what was the course
her Majesty's Government, in connection with its
allies, intended to pursue ?
Lord PALMERSTON rose and said :

With regard to the general condition of Greece, I have
nothing to add to those opinions which the hon. gentle-
man has quoted as having been expressed by me on former
occasions. I am sorry to say the course pursued by the
Government of Greece since only confirms the justice of
anything I may have said in condemnation of it. ( Hear,
hear.) With regard to the occupation of Greece by de-
tachments of French and British troops, that occupation
took place in consequence of measures of aggression either
motivated or promoted by the Government of Greece
against the Turkish territory. The Governments of Eng-
land and France justly thought that when they were
engaged in a war with Russia for the defence of the Turkish
dominions it was not fitting that a small State like Greece,
which was essentially bound by obligations to neutrality,
should attack on the one side the State which the two

Governments were defending against the assaults of a
larger power on the other. For that purpose the Pincus
was occupied, and during the occupation the aggression
which led to the occupation ceased.
The noble lord regretted that he could not say the
occupation had induced any improvement in the
system of government or the internal tranquillity of
the country. The fact was, the Government and
Court were in conflict with the representative system.
Since 1843 there had been a perpetual endeavour to
get rid of the constitutional Government by corrupt
and indirect means ; and the money which ought to
have been appropriated to the payment of the debt
of Greece was appropriated in corrupting the electors,
and afterwards those who were elected :
With regard to enforcing the payment of the debt, as the
guarantee was common to the three powers—England,
France, and Russia—it has always been held that no one
power eau rightfully enforce this claim without the concur•
rence of the other two; because it is clear that if the sue•
plus revenue will only pay one-third of the debt, one of the
three powers, by taking the whole, would naturally deprive
the other two of that which would give them a fair share of
the surplus. That view of the case has always been taken
by the Government of this country. With regard to the
future policy which England, in conjunction with France
and Russia, may think proper to pursue, I am sure the hon.
gentleman will perceive that would be an anticipation of
the future which it would not be proper for me to enter
upon. (Hear.)
AFFAIRS OF ITALY. _ _

The Marquis of CLANRICARDE, on Thursday, asked
if the Earl of Clarendon could communicate to the
house the notes of .the Sardinian Envoy of the 22nd
of March and the 10th of April, presented to the
Congress of Paris, with the answers returned to
them.
The Earl of CLARENDON apologised for not having
communiested these documents sooner, but thought
it was of little importance, as they had already ap-
peared in the newspapers. With respect to the
answers, the French and English Governments
agreed that, the questions having been fully dis-
cussed at the Congress, it was not necessary to
send any answer to them. But it had since ap-
peared that the Sardinian Government wished to
have some written record of the arguments, and he
had no hesitation in repeating, in the name of her
Majesty's Government, what he had said at Paris.
That answer he now laid on the table. Before
Parliament separated the affairs of Italy would,
no doubt, be discussed; but all he could state at
present was that be believed both France and
Austria were sincere in their desire to withdraw

533

their troops from the portions of Italy occupied by
them, and that they were now preparing to do so.

THE DANUBIAN PRINCIPALITIES.

Mr. ROEBUCK, on Monday, said he believed it had
been stated by the plenipotentiaries at Paris that
commissioners were appointed to enter into certain
questions relative to the principalities of Moldavia
and Wallachia. He wished to ask the Government
whether any instructions had been framed by the
plenipotentiaries, and given to the commissioners,
and, if so, whether the Government would have any
objection to lay those instructions on the table ?

Lord PALMERSTON said that no instructions were
framed. It WS.4 determined the English, French,
Turkish, and Austrian Governments should
appoint commissioners, who were to place
themselves in communication with certain assem-
blies called the Divan, which were to be con-
voked by the Porte, with a view of coming to some
understanding as to what form of government should
be adopted for the provinces :

I may state, however, that those commissioners will
not proceed to transact any business in the provinces till
the assemblies are convoked, and it is not the opinion of
either her Majesty's Government or the Government
of France that any preliminary steps should be taken
until the principalities have been evacuated by foreign
troops. The Austrian troops are still there. The Rnssian
troops still occupy that portion of Bessarabia which is to
become part of Moldavia, and the evacuation cannot be
effected until the line of the frontier is laid down by the
commissioners.

Mr. ROEBUCK wished to put another question.
Would there be any difficulty in publishing the in-
structions which were to be framed, when they were
framed?

Lord PALMERSTON :
It is not usual to publish such instructions, and I am
sure my hon. and learned friend will see it would be
inexpedient to do so, as circumstances may arise which
may render a part of the instructions previously given
inapplicable to the circumstances which may have just
arisen.

Tug ARMY.

Upon the house going into committee on Thurs-
day,
Mr. SIDNEY HERBERT rose to call the attention of
the house to the education and instruction of the
officers of the army. Alluding to the general popu-
larity of the military force at this moment, be pre-
sumed that the Government would no longer be
forced to disperse the different corps on their return
all over the country, but would be permitted to keep
them together in brigades and divisions, and to ex•
ercise them on that system. Starting with the as-
sumption that our army must be necessarily small,
Mr. Sidney Herbert maintained that we should
make up for our numerical inferiority by the highest
possible training and efficiency. That this was done
was notoriously not the case. He did not intend to
deal with the question of instruction for the meo,
but for the officers ; neither did he wish to contend
for high literary acquirements, but rather for strictly
professional and practical knowledge, and to show
how important such knowledge was to them, he quoted
several opinions to that. effect of Napoleon, the
Duke of Wellington, Sir John Burgoyne, Colonel
Adams, Colonel Prosser, and other mititary authori-
ties. The non-necessity for the instruction of the
officers had, he thought, been dissipated by the late
war. Referring then to the course of instruction
adopted at our military schools, he pointed out the de-
fects of the system followed at Sandhurst, and
Carshalton, which was one simply of " cramming,"
and not effective cramming either, for if a boy were
plucked, or did not .choose to pass the Sandhurst
examination, he could obtain a commission by going
through the minor examination provided for those
who had not been at Sandhurst. The boy having
got into the army, a defective system of examination
followed upon promotion, and if appointed to the staff,
the duties of which pre-eminently required thorough
practical and professional knowledge, there was no
examination at all on promotion. Now, the whole
system was indefensible. The officers of
should, as in the navy, be inoculated with ,
fessional spirit, and to obtain this he proposed

To do away with all military education before .
To admit students in larger numbers to Sandhurst.
admit them by one uniform standard ; but also ,
those who have not attended any military college
to pass the same examination. To establish f
quarters of every division a staff officer for the
of sub•officers, and to subject the latter to an
uniform throughout England and the colonies.
the senior department from Sandhurst to Fe
to render the education there more practical
in its character. Lastly, that every officer who
the staff shall pass through the staff school, ■
himself for three years to the different branches
service.

With respect to the system of purchase,
intend to enter upon the question, but he
a system above all others which rendered
tion requisite. By creating some additional

w, the whole
of the army
ith more pro-
opo.:ed :
before sixteen.
,andhurst. To
also to admit
:ollege if able
It at the head-
he instruction
In examination
les. To remove
Farnham, and
al and military
who serves on
owl, and attach
ranches of the
e, he did not
he thought it
red examina-
AlWoad imam-

534 PliE PRESS. SATURDAY)

tive to military studies the army would no longer be
regarded in its present light.
Mr. F. PEEL said the question was one of detail,
for as to the expediency of improving the professional
training of officers of the army all were agreed ;
but everything depended upon► the mode in which
the principle was worked out. He admitted that the
Government had done much less in this respect for
the officers than for the privates, and that the coun-
try had a right to expect that ample means should
be provided of enabling officers to obtain that know-
ledge which was necessary for the discharge of their
professional duties, and, with regard to the staff,
that staff appointments should be honestly con-
ferred upon officers who had availed themselves of
the means of education. Mr. Peel then reviewed
the plan developed by Mr. Herbert, and declared
that it was the intention of the Government to de-
vote their best consideration to the subject, but not

to act with hurry and precipitation.
Mr. ELLICE said it was essential that the country
should set to work in earnest to place the army in
the most efficient state.

Sir DE LACY EVANS condemned the present mode
of examination, and urged the Government to ac-
celerate its movement in this matter.
Lord PALMERSTON assured the house that the Go
vernment were duly impres,ed with the deep im-
portance of placing the army in a state of the
utmost efficiency, and of coming as soon as pos.
sible to some satis►actory arrangements upon the
sutjeci

The subject then dropped.
The house then went. into a Committee of Supply,
when the remaining Civil Service Estimates, and
votes for the Encumbered Estates Court, and Scutari
monument, after a sharp discussion, were agreed to.

SUPPLY.—STATUTE LAW COMMISSION.
The house went into Committee of Supply on
Monday night. On the vote of 11,9111. for charges
of the above commission,
Mr. LockE Klan complained of the unsatisfactory
results of the present commission. Mr. Bellenden
Kerr, the Chief Commissioner, did not give the
whole of his time to the business. The constitution
of the commission appeared to him (Mr. L. King)
to be radically defective. The statute book might
be consolidated in twelve months, but under the pre-
sent system the work would not be done in twenty
years.
Mr. BAINES admitted that Mr. Kerr only gave half
his time to the work of the commission, but insisted
that the result of the labours of the commission was
satisfactory. The commission had been devoted to
the preparation of bills on the Consolidation of the
National Debt Act, the Landlord and Tenant Act,
the klaster and Workman Act, the law relating to
prisons, to stamps, to the Statute of Limitations, to
bills of exchange and promissory notes, the consoli-
dation of the criminal law, consi-ting of eight bills
under these heads; then the following subjects had
ileen dealt with—namely, offences against the
person and against property, malicious injury to pro
perty, forgery, treason, and other offence: against
the State ; and the law of general procedure. On all
these points bills had been prepared, and other bills
in regard to other subjects of the law were in for
ward preparation, such as the consolidation of the
law of carriers by land and water, and the law of
aliens and denizens. The apt ointment of a public
officer, or of a board to revise current le4islation, had
also been considered; and the question, with the
above bills, would shortly be brought before Parlia-
ment.

fallacious, the only trustworthy investigation into the
accounts of an undertaking being one instituted by
the shareholders themselves.
Mr. Lowe could not accede to the preposition of
the right hon. gentleman. The Board of Trade
possessed an analogous function in its power to
select an arbitrator to settle disputes between rail-
way companies. If some such power as this had
existed in the case of the Tipperary Bank, the pro-
ceedings which hed proved so ruinous CO that unfor-
tunate concern might have been arrested.
Mr. NEWDEGATE objected to the appointment of a
secret tribunal at the discretion of the Government,
and thought the right hon. gentleman (Mr. Lowe)
could not have referred to a case more fatal to his
own proposition than that of the Tipperary Bank.
In his opinion, shareholders might safely be left to
decide upon matters affecting their own interests, and
he protested against the substitution of the secret
action of the Beard of Trade for the open action of
shareholders themselves. _ _ _

Mr. WHITESIDE could fully comprehend the illus-
tration of the Tipperary Bank, and when the proper
opportunity arrived he might be able to affori some
information with reference to the gang of persons
concerned in that establishment.

Mr. WALPoLE objected to this measure, because it
would enable a public board to deal with private
transactions.

Mr. Lows said, in explanation, that the bill did
not contemplate any intrrterence on the part of a
public department beyond the appointment of per-
sons, for whose impartiality there was some guaran
tee, to investigate the affairs of companies. The bill
did not merely provide for the infliction of penalties
in case of the non-production of books, but it gave
power to examine persons upon oath, and if that
power had existed pteviously he did not believe that
one person connected with the Tipperary Bank
would have obtained possession of 200,0001. The
bill was designed to prevent a minority of share-
holders from being trampled upon by the majority.
The house then divided, when the numbers
were—

understandings arose from personal offence and sus.
picion. The noble lord was reported to have said at
Blandford, unless the newspapers belied him—" You
had better take care, for if you let in the communion-
table the next thing will be a picture of St. Peter at
the east end of the chapel." This was a specimen of
the inilammatoly language in which the noble lord
had indulged with reference to this subject. So
much mischief might be done by men in the position
of the noble lord being the persons to circulate such
rumours—when the only question really at issue was
whether the old service of the Church of England
should be adhered to or should be obliterated—that
such conduct could not be too deeply deprecated. He
trusted that, as his right rev, friend had exhibited a
spirit of perfect forbearance, and a simple intention
to carry• out the authorised service of the Church of
England, he would receive from their lordships that
support which they were always ready to accord to
the faithful and conscientious discharge of a sacred
duty. _

For the motion .. .. .. .. 32
Against it .. .. .. 42
Majority .. ..
The bill was then passed.
JOINT-STOCK BANKS BILL.

Sir J. SHELLEY, on Thursday, moved the order of
the day for resuming the adjourned debate on this
bill. It consisted of not more than fifteen Rues, and
might be disposed of in as many minutes.
Mr. VANCE moved that the debate be adjourned.

The subject then dropped.
TENANT RIGHT (IRELAND) RILL.

The house divided,—For the adjournment, 26;
against, 53. Mrkjority against, 27.
Further opposition twing threatened, Sir J. Shelley
consented that the bill should be adjourned to
Friday, and it was adjourned accordingly.
Mr. VANCE, on Wednesday, resumed the adjourned
debate, on the motion for going into committee, and
was proceeding to show by what checks Sir R.
Peel had guarded these banks from the evils which
had hitherto produced so many failures and so much
loss, but the quarter to six o'clock having arrived, the
debate again stood adjourned.

Sir FITZROY KELIX defended Mr. BePendell Kerr
and the commission, which he declared had done
much to facilitate the great task of consolidating the
Statute Law. He briefly explained the object of the
present labours of the commission, which was t get
rid of the forty volumes now constituting the Statute
Law, with all their defects, and to substitute some
five or six volumes which should contain the whole
Statute Law of England reduced to about 300 acts
of Parliament, each act embracing a single subject,
but the whole of that subject. Those three hundred
acts again were to be reduced into classes, each con•
stituting a complete class of the Statute Law. Sir
Fitzroy Kelly further stated that. seventeen or
eighteen bills were now in preparation, and as soon
as possible would be laid before the house.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL regarded it as a vital point
that the initiatory labours of the commission, before
being brought before Parliament, should he first sub-
mitted to the consideration of the highest legal autho-
rities of the country, and then such a reform of the
statute-book would be obtained as would satisfy the
Louse and country.
The vote was then agreed to by a majority of
16-70 to 56.

Mr. MoutE, on Wednesday, moved the second read-
ing of this bill, and contended that its principle was
quite consistent with a due regard to the rights of
property, with the maintenance of law and order, and
with the wElfarc and happiness of the Irish people.
The bill contemplated four objects—the first, oo make
provision to secure the tenants the benefit of any ex-
penditure of labour and capital which they might
invest in their holdings ; the second, that the custom
in vogue in Ulster should be properly defined and
limit3d ; the third, that landlords should, under cer-
tain circumstances, be restrained from evicting their
tenants ; and the fourth, that the law should inter.
terfere to regulate the anomalies which had arisen
out of the events of 1845-6 and succeeding years.
The hors. gentleman denied that the measure would
in any sense interfere with the freedom of contract
between landlords and tenants in ',eland, and urged
that the present moment, when political agitation
and agrarian outrage r. ere almost unknown, was the
most favorable to make a great social and political
change in Ireland.
Mr. MAGUIRE seconded the motion, but as no hon.
member offered to address the house a division was
called for, when the second reading was carried by a
majority of 29, the numbers being 88-59.
Mr. HORSMAN, on Thursday, in reply to Mr. Staf-
ford, explained that his vote, given on the previous
day in favour of the Tenant Right Bill, was intended
merely to record his approval of the principle on
which the measure was founded. With its details
he could not agree, and begged to express his regret
for having omitted on Wednesda) to explain the in-
tention of the Government on the question :

The ban member for Mayo ( Mr. G. Moore ) expressed
a desire that no discussion of the provisions of the bill
should take place on that occasion, but that the house
should simply reaffirm a resolution it hail affirmed in the
preceding session—that the relations between landlord
and tenant in Ireland were not on a satisfactory footing.
The Government had no difficulty about reaffirming that
resolution, although be (Mr . Horsman ) could not think
that such a declaration of opinion would lead any prac-
tical result. ( Hear, hear.) He had been quite prepared
to state the view of the Government, that proceeding to
committee upon the bill would be a mere waste of time,
hut a general cry of " Agreed " arose upon the other side
of the house, and therefore, seeing the general feeling of
the house, the Goveniment deferred to it. As, however,
the Government had opposed last year the measure of the
hon. member for Kilkenny ( Mr. Sergeant Sbee ), which
was not so extensive in its character as that of the hon.
member for Mayo, it was not likely that they should sup-
port the of provision of the present bill. (Hear.)
If, when the motion for going into committee upon that
bill was made, the hon. member for Northamptonshire
would move its committal on that day six months, he.
would have the support of the Government. (" Hear,'
and loud laughter.)
Mr. DRUMMOND thought it would be as well to
know whether the house was to look to the hon.
member for Northamptonshire or to the Secretary
for Ireland for a declaration of the intentions of the
Government upon Irish matters. (" Hear," and
laughter.)
At a later hour in the evening Mr. HORSMAN, in
reply to Mr. G. Moore, said he was perfectly ready,
when the bill got into committee, to vindicate the
vote he gave on Wednesday, and the course he
should adopt then.

JOINT-STOCK COMPANIES
Mr. Lowe, on Monday, moved the third reading of
this bill.
Mr. HENLEY moved the omission of clauses 40,
47, and 4,1, which authorised the Board of Trade to
appoint an inspector to examine into the solvency of
a company. The provision was mischievous and
1111111-