The Press.
London, England, 1854-12-23 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

otherwise : Provided always, That it shall not be lawful for such
Recruit to apply his thumb to his nose by way of ceremony before
a Justice of the Peace ; And That all Officers, Non-Commissioned
Officers, Drummers, and Private Soldiers enlisting or commissioned
under this Act shall take such Oath or Oaths, in their peculiar
idiom, as they shall dictate for their fidelity during their continuance
in her Majesty's Service.
VI. It shall be lawful for her Majesty to cause as many such
Foreigners to be enlisted in her Service as can be tempted by the
offer of a high bounty : Provided always, That not more than five
persons in every company shall speak the same tongue, to prevent
the danger of secret societies being formed among them for the
massacre of their Officers, the plunder of the localities in which
they may be stationed, or the tiring of her Majesty's Dockyards and
Arsenals which they may be entrusted to guard.
VII. It shall be lawful for her Majesty, if she shall see fit, to
make Supplemental Articles of War, to apply to persons enlisting
under this Act, to the effect that such persons may be chained to
the guns they are appointed to serve, according to the practice of
the Chinese, or picketted to the ground, or hobbled about the
ankles, as cattle are secured, to prevent their deserting to the
enemy : Provided always, That, as mercenaries have an undoubted
right, according to all precedent and experience, to desert in certain
proportions to the enemy, it shall be lawful for a number not
exceeding one-fourth of those on actual duty in the field, to go over
to the said enemy, taking with them their arms, ammunition, and
any information they can obtain ; And that a number not exceeding
three in any one company shall be at liberty to simultaneously
correspond with the said enemy.

ON THE FOREIGN ENLISTMENT ACT.

" Come Switzers, and come Polanders, come Alemans and Huns,
" Our country needs stout hands and hearts—she cannot trust her
sons ;
" She has no faith in her own blood, is doubtful of herself—
" Come fight beneath her banners, she is prodigal of pelf.

of the Porte, and preserve the equilibrium of power
in Europe, Mr. Cobden contended that at the present
moment we had attained everything that was neces-
sary for securing our object, and sketched in con-
siderable detail the diplomatic situation of affairs,
drawing, therefore, the inference that ample gua-
rantees were already obtained against the peril of
Russian egression. He believed that peace could
now be concluded on terms that fully satisfied
all the demands of Lonour or interest, and de-
nounced the Quixotic spirit which inspired us
to prolong an unnecessary conflict for the mere
idea that we were supporting the weak against
the strong. The plain question was this—Was
the object of the war worth its cost ?—and,
reckoning in this case not only the treasures, but
the human lives and material progress that must be
sacrificed, he felt compelled to decide that question
in the negative. Considered as a blow against an
enemy, our present operations were conducted on a
wrong system. The capture of Sebastopol, if we
achieved it, would not materially weaken Russia.
Our ultimate difficulty would be found to lie in
preserving Turkey from melting away under her
internal corruption ; and this, as well as all the
other difficulties that surrounded us, would, he
argued, be much better solved by peace than by
war. If the pending struggle were once ended, lie
was assured that none of the parties engaged would
be very eager to recommence it.
Mr. CORRY contended that abundant resources

were at hand, and should be rendered available, ra-
ther than adopt so dangerous an expedient as that
now proposed by the Government.
Mr. PHILLIMORE dissected the arguments that had
been adduced in opposition to the measure, and de-
nied their cogency.
Mr. SANDERS was convinced that public opinion, if
allowed the opportunity, would be unanimously pro-
nounced in condemnation of the bill.
Mr. D. SEYIdOUR, from his own experience at a
recent meeting of his constituents, denied that the
proposition was unpopular.
Lord LOVAIN supported the amendment, consider-
ing the bill detrimental to the army, and discredit.
able to the country at large.
Sir C. PERRY characterised Mr. Cobden's speech as
nopportune. In the present critical position of
ffairs all strictures on the conduct of the war were
out of place. The Russians were employing every
devise to hurry their reinforcements into the
Crimea, and had set an example which it behoved us
to follow, it' we hoped to avoid discomfiture. The
hon. baronet proceeded to admit the excellence, but
questioned the practicability, of the system of non-
intervention. The foreigners whom we chiefly ex-
pected to enlist under the bill were Germans, who, in
spite of the despotic tendencies of their Sovereign,
were as a people imbued with a high spirit of honour
and cordial sympsthies for liberty.
...II

SATURDAY,

" What matter that her soldiers pining iu the sickly Caribees
" Pray with dying lips to serve her—she has need of none of these ;
" What matter that in Hiudoston i.rave spirits waste away,
" Perishing of dull inaction, thirsting for the glorious fray !
" What matter that in far off climes where the St. Lawrence flows
" Hochelaga's sturdy yeomen curse their spiritless repose,
" And pray that they may prove their love fur their forefathers' land
" By striking yet one blow for her upon the Russian's strand ? "

Thus spake the Sovereign's Ministers, pale counsellors of fear ;
Their words came ringing like a knell in each true Briton's ear ;
The Peers of England looked aghast, the Commons held their 'breath,
And many a cheek turned white with shame that never blenched at
death.

No Lord am I not Senator, a man of humble mould,
But I will speak a e truth to-day as truth should aye be told;
No pedant rules of Parliament shall check my honest words,
No fear of Whiggici petulance, no love of Peelite Lords.
I say that ye are libelling our bravest and our best,
Blaspheming e'en the souls of those who won their glorious rest
'Through torment and through bloody wounds, through pestilence and
pain--
Ye libel living heroes and ye desecrate the slain.

The spirits of the slaughter'd by dark Alma's waters slain,
The fiery souls who rushed to death on Balaklava's plain,
The stern, unyielding warriors of Inkermann's red fight,
Felt their wounds bleeding fresh again at your cold words that night.
nh, England ! hear the warning voice of those who love thee well,
Of those who long to die for thee, e'en as their brethren fell ;
'Tis but our heritage we ask, our brothers rights we claim,
They have died to do thee honour, we but ask to do the same.
Have thy sons failed thee, mother ? have they grudged thee their best

blood?
Oh, spurn all cowards from thee, stand erect in noble mood ;
Trust not thy honour, mother, to these mercenary slaves,
We pray thee by our brethren's wounds, we warn thee by their graves.

Mr. EVELYN complained that the Government had
concealed their purpose while proposing the bill,
which for his own part he declined to take on trust.
Mr. BENTINCK also opposed the bill, and expressed
his total want of confidence in the Government in
respect of their management of the war.
Lord EBItINOTON was persuaded that the struggle
we were now carrying on in defence of the liberties
of Europe were watched with interest by the Euro-
pean nations. He thought, therefore, that there
could be little difficulty and no discredit in our ob-
' taining recruits among those nations to assist us in
the conflict.
Mr. P. O'BRIEN, though professing himself no
supporter of the Government, accepted the bill as a
means of affording relief to the gallant army in the
Crimea.
Mr. COWAN disliked the bill, but consented to vote
for it because the Government and the commander-
in-chief had affirmed it to be necessary.
Dr. MITCHELL, and Sir J. FITZGERALD having
spoken,
Lord JOHN RUN3ELL replied, adverting to some of
the principal arguments adduced in opposition to the
measure, and criticising at some length the speech
of Mr. Cobden. After delineating the recent course
of events in the East of Europe, he declared that the
allied powers were still willing to treat with Russia
on the basis of the "four points," whose import he
explained, and submitted that they atlbrded terms at
once prudent and moderate for the re establishment
of peace. There was no intention of leaving Russia
other than a powerful and independent btate, but it
was impossible to allow her to prosecute her scheme
for the absorption of Turkey, and if the Czar still in-
sisted on carrying that project into execution the Go-
vernment had reason to rely upon the complete
evaporation of Austria in opposing his designs.
Sir J. PAKINGTON, in a speech of great eloquence
and power, enforced the objection against the
measure, declaring that the Ministers had left all
the arrangements of their opponents practically
unanswered.
Mr. BRIGHT displayed some warmth in defending
Mr. Cobden from the strictures of Lord J. Russell,
whom he charged with having mistaken and mis-
stated his arguments. The hon. member went on
to comment upon the degraded state of Turkey,
declaring that in supporting the Porte against
Russia we were fighting for a hopeless cause anda
worthless ally. Reviewing the Ministerial policy in
relation to the war, he inveighed in vehement terms
• against their conduct, and proclaimed them guilty
for all the suffering and bloodshed that had ensued.

The house then divided. For the third reading,
178; against 185—majority, 38. The bill was then
read a third time and passed, and the house ad-
journed
' -- •