The Express.
London, England, 1864-02-23 00:00:00

MILITARY OPERATIONS IN AMERICA.

Lord ST SATHEDEN eked the Secretary of State for
War whether her Majesty's government propose to send
commies/oilers to report upon the military operations of the
Confederacy as well as to send conimissionera to report
upon the military operation of the United States. The
northern army, be said, waseompomid of differeat elements.
It comprised Gorses.. tad Irish as well ae satire Americans,
while the Southern MrOIIIS wen composed mainly, if not
entirely. of natives of the Confederate States. Russia and
Prussia had slready seat oommissioners to the Southern
States.

Earl DE GREY mid RIPON—The noble lord Is not
quite accurate in stating that her Majesty's goveromeet
have proposed to send commisaioners to report on the mili-
tary operations in the Northern States of America. We
do not propose to send any officers to the Northern States
to fill the position of oommiasioners in the proper Dense of
that word. W • have from time to time sought information
with respect especially to the manufacture of guns and am-
maaitien and the building of iron vemels, from
Lord Lyons, her Majesty's minister at Wash-
'Maim, and from time to tints he has forwarded
as much iofonnatioa as be has obtained on those points.
Bat u the subject became more exceeded and the informa-
tion which it wsa desirable to obtain more minute and
*theirs', Lord Lyons felt that he had not means at his dis-
posal to enable him to supply such information accurately
to her 31ajesty's government, and he reoommended that
some military officer should be sent to collect it, with the full
edvantage of profinsional knowledge. In col:coquinas of
that recommendation, and with the view of obtsiniog in-
formation with regard to the materials of war and
the application of iron to motels like the Monitor and
other clamm of shins is that country, her Majesty's fie"
vestment have sent to the Northam States of America an
artillery and an engineer officer and an officer of the navy ;
but they will potent in the capacity of commimionen with
the Northern States army, and are not sent so much for
the purpose of going about with that army and reporting
on military operation, as for collecting special information
with respect to the materials of war and shipbuild-
ing in those States. Of course, in the Northern
States of America the information to be ac-
quired on those palate is more important and
extended than that to be obtained in the Southern
State., bemuse of the great moms' which the fanner have
at their command, and the inventions and sew mimes
which they are adopting. On that account, and for other
impend end very obvious reasons—one especially beim that
to which the noble lord has alluded, se to the diffity of
the route by which officers would have to find their way to
the Southern States—her Majesty's government did not
consider it advisable to seed any damn to make similar
inquiries in the Southern States.
Their lordahipe thee adjourned at a few minutes after
G

HOUSE OF COMMONS-MONDAY, FEL V.

The S l'E.l KIR took the chair at 4 o'clock.
PRIVATE BUSINFE:I.

The following bills were mad a second time :—Bodmini
Wadebridge, and Cornwall Junction Railway ; Brokers
Roods Wood Rents ; Caledonian Railway (arediabolni and
Teenochaide Branch) ; Chialiestor Harbour Embankment ;
Crieti and Matliven Junction and Branch Railway ; Mid
Wales Railway ; Newtown and Machyolleth and Aberyst-
with and Welsh Coast Rail.' ; ?ankle:birch Roads;
Somerset and Dorset Railway (Cheddar Valley and Yatton);
South Kensington New Road; Stamford and &anodise
Railway; Stockton and Middlesbrough Water; Sodden
Bridge and Bury Roads ; Sunny and Sasses Junction Rail-
ways ; Taiga Volley Railway ; Tooting, Merton, and Wim-
bledon Extension Railway ; Torbay and Brishain Railway ;
and Wellington and Drayton Railway.
SHIPMENTS OF TOBACCO PROM THE CONFEDE-
RATS IMAMS TO PRANCE.

Sir IL CLIFTON pre notioe that to-morrow he
would ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affain
a question reepectag the shipment of a tarp quantity of
tobacco from the Southern States of Amerika to the
French government, with the consent of the Washington
pvernmenL