The Express.
London, England, 1864-07-23 00:00:00

NEW ZEALAND.

Jo reply to. questioo by Mr. A. Yuan,
Mr.CA RD W EL L stated that no proclamation was tootaiDed
In the despatches which had been recently received from
New Zealand, but a notification was contained in those
despatches, which led him to suppose that a proposition of
a totally different character to that of the alleged proclaims.
lion had bees put forward.
THE DANUBIAN PRINCIPALITIES.

Mr. D. GRIFFITH asked whether t►e arrangement to
which the hon. gentleman (Mr. Lipid) bad referred was
made between Prince Coma and the Porte elate, or
whether It was referred to the other powers?
Mr. LAYARD mud that the arrangement made at Coo.
stantioople was mode with the coot-offence of all the
powers who were parties to the treaty of Paris.

GOVEB.NMENT MANUFACTUEII:O ESTABLISH-
IIF.NT&

On the motion by Mr. F. fait, that the house, at its
rising, do adjourn till Moedsy,
Mr. COBDEN rose to all the attention of the holies to
the great attoosion of our government manufacturieg 'stab-
lish Clllllllll. and tomato the following resolutions:—" That the
recent great intensities of government manufacturing estab-
lishments calls for the atteetion of the government. That
it is expedient that steps be forthwith taken to plea each
separate establishment as wady as possible on the footing
of a private manufacturing immure or • public company, by
*kin • valuation of the (thawed floating capital employed,
including the value of the land, sad that npoa this basis
gnashe an annual stockasking ; when, after making all the
deductions for depreciation of buildings, wear-
nartay,wL7 pleat, interest of capital, rates mad taxes, and
other charges, such • price be charged to the goveromeet
departments for articles supplied as thall premises the capi-
tal intact; and that these accounts, with a hidamos
sheet, be laid annually on the table of this house."
The hoe. gentleman enforced the principle that the overn.
meat ought not to be allowed to set up such establishameta
for the production of articles that could be found in the
open market, and that whoa they had onfortuaately got
into a false system they should endeavour as far as possible
to retrace their steps. Why was it, he asked, when we bad
so long been acting upon the principle of unrestricted
competition, the government should have boom allowed
te raise up these gigantic monopolies He referred
to the great gun factory. Before the Crimean war
the government never cast a single gun, and he showed
bow from 18.54 the establishment at Woolwich gradually
grow up into its present proportions, and was placed under
Sir W. Armstrong. He dwelt upon the afoot' of this
appointment in keeping competition out of the field, and is
a profuse and wasteful expenditure. Having exposed what
be termed the gigantic ordnance failure, be adverted
to the nienufscture of small arms and to the govern-
moot rifle establishment at Enfield. He did not say
that this factory was an unprofitable one; but it
drove oat competition in the trade, sad was attended
with the evil of creating an Hone of stack, and the
making of things that were Oct wanted. He showed that the
estimates of profit and loss of these government establish- I
merits were fallacious ; they allowed nothing for interest of
capital, rent, insomnia, Le. Ile examined the returns of
the Waltham Abbey powder factory and of the great cloth-
lag establishment, sod he made especial reference to the
subject of naval dockyards. It was notorious, he said, that
we had spent minims of mosey in useless constructions in
our royal dockyarda—keepieg up enormous establishments
fora sines customer—which might have been saved if the
government had not made their ships, maintainiag este-
blishmaats oaly for repairs. He urged a variety d reasons,
political as well aa Gomm:Math ratty the building of ships and
the maaufacture of muaitions of war should be abandoned to
private eaterprise. I ocasider (said Mr. Cobden) that what
bas been done with respect to the Armee/mg guns
and our armaments hair bean • disgrace to the country. You
have disgraced the country by eedertakiag that which you
should sot have undertaken, and by thee doing it in an
in-
sufficient manner. Remember, we are reversed by • very
narrow eJame—l allude to the personnel of administration.
' I do sot complain of that, for our mercantile comninaity do
not seem to mad in their young men to compete. I merely
mantles l u • fad, but bear in mild that you may one
day bed yourselves in such • difficulty, in coesequemoo of
your mismanagement of your gees and armaments,
as may expose you to a serious dilemma. I
cannot imagine anything more calculated to irritate this
proud and combative people, more likely to produce a de-
mocratic revolution, than if we were to had ourselves nevi-
fieed in the matter of our defences by the classes who have
so long menem:lised the edmieistration of the ecentry.
(Loud cries of • Hear, hese) You have brought this di-
lemma upon yourselves by becoming producers, sod what I
advise you is at coos to band over your work to private
producers. By doing so you will be absolved from
• perilous responsibility. U you west great guns,
rifles, iron hulls for ships, let it be known that
you want them, and you will get them from private manu-
facturers ; or if you fail, you will at lout be absolved from
your exclusive responsibility. You will say to the tradieg
and manufacturing community, "We are out with you,
and we must rise or fall, flourish or fade together, aceordieg
to the energy, and seal, and patriotism that may be dis-
played alike by the governing classes and the trade aid in-
dustry of the country." (Loud cheers.)
The moth's was wooded by Colonel BAirrmor, who
laid particular stress upon the tact that under the present
system, notwithstanding all the matey that had bees spent,
we were still insufficieetly supplied with an irouclad navy.
It was the duty of the house to inquire and ascertain
Whether or not it was possible for the government to manu-
facture cheaper than ordinary private workshop%
Mr. MONSELL denied that the principle advocated by
Mr. Cobdoo was susceptible of unvarying application, and
alluding to the gunnery experiments cooducted by the go-
vernment, expressed his approval of them as being in ac-
cordance with the recommendation contained in the report
of the oommittee. In bas opinion the public establishments
geserally were well managed, and had been entirely sue-

Mr. Aldernme ROSE hoped the riversimeet would sot
standee them eetetilahmeeta, and leave the service of the
oouetry at the mercy costraotcre.
Mr. WHITE echoed the sentiment. of Mr. Cobden, and
boosted that it won the duty of the house sod the govern-
ment to prevent the excessive growth of such institutions.
Mr. CORRY defended the coarse which bad been pursued
by the administration of Lord Derby in making a coosidw
rable oddities to the member and augmenting the efficiency
of the wooden ships in the navy. He held that it would
have been quite unjustifiable to 1ii.41 committed the country
to an enormous expenditure on account of iron ships before
their utility had been fully proved.
Mr. CHILDERS replied to the ob!eetions of Mr. Cobden,
so far as the manufacturing eetablishineeta of the dock-
yards were concerned, and stated that it wee the intention
of the Admiralty to take stock hereafter of all the pleat
in their poesessioe on the first day of the year.
Colonel DICKSON @Retorted the motion of Mr. Cobden,
and emended that the whole system of clothing the army
might he greatly Improved by trusting to private contract.
Marquis of HARTZ?: TON showed that In oases
where the contract system had been noted upon at a period
of emergency it had almost invariably failed. It wee to the
gevernesset, toe, that the credit was doe of having intro-
decal the meet modern immovementa in the machinery for
tbeseseafeetwris of rides.

Six M. PETO said there ought to be a debtor and
creditor aroma for each partienUr dockyard every year.
Those sorouate ought to sbow the expenditure of each
=lmi, sad what It had produced, sad in this way they
semertain which dockyard nasufactored meet eheaoy.
He moo band to admit the flerretaty to the Admiralty had
gives the beam more information thee had ever bees gives
to it beton ea this subject ; bet although all the items is
the eceemmts eubmitted to the hoses might be perfectly
eeeerate, they wee* really so acoonars at all, becalm they
*sell sot be eaderetood. &we 1e62, the ewer Were the