The Press.
London, England, 1858-08-07 00:00:00

THE PRESS, AUGUST 7, 1858.

The Earl of DERBY : Galway has now got the start,
at all events. What sort of passage did the Indian

Empire make out ?
The Rev. Mr. DALY said that the ship would have
made a splendid passage, but that she met with an
accident which reduced her steam.power a fourth, if

not a third.
The Earl of DERBY : Did she not run on the
only rock in the whole neighbourhood ? (Laughter.)
The Rev. Mr. DALY said that such was the tact,
and that, the two pilots who had the vessel in charge
at the time were committed to stand their trial for
the offence, but that one of them had since died.
The Earl of DERBY : Did he commit suicide ?
The Rev. Mr. DALY : That has not yet been
ascertained, as the stomach has not been analyzed.
There are to be seven steamships on the station.
The Tropeller is there now, and the Tubal Cain is
getting ready for sea. The whole fleet consists of
the Indian Empire, the Prince Albert, the American
Empire, the British Empire, the Antelope, and the
Vesper. The absolute cost of these ships amounts
to '210,5001., and Mr. Lever and his friends (for the
intended company about to be formed is not yet
completed) have themselves expended that large
amount upon this national enterprize.
After some further conversation his lordship
observed that the sum of money required was very
considerable.
The Rev. Mr. DALY : It is only 152,0001. against
the many millions which have been granted for
similar works in England.
The Earl of DERBY : Well, I cannot, of course,
give you a reply without consulting with the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer and my other colleagues.
It is, however, a principle of the Government to help
I those who help themselves, and I am bound to say
that you have done something in that way. I will
only now say that it is not improbable that the
Government may be disposed to cooperate with the
town of Galway to some extent, but to what extent I
cannot say until I speak to the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, and until we see how the project of a
western packet station is likely to succeed.
The Rev. Mr. DALY : That is as much as we can
jexpect, though I should have been glad to hear your
lordship say that you would give us the money.

(Laughter.)
The Earl of DERBY : I dare say you would.
(Laughter.) But you know this steam company is
to pay ten per cent. You will not, of course, be con-
tent with !ess. (Laughter.)
The Rev. Mr. Deur said that personally it was
immaterial to him whether the speculation paid five
per cent., or ten per cent., as he had not a shilling
invested in it ; but that he and the other members of
the deputation had interested themselves in the
matter with the view of promoting the prosperity of
Galway and of the empire generally. As for Mr.
Lever, he believed that gentleman would be well
satisfied if his expenses were paid by the first trip,
and that the second yielded him a profit of five per
cent. on his capital. There were, however, great
obstacles in the way at present, in consequence of
the absence of a pier and breakwater. The goods
had to be taken out in lighters, in consequence of
being brought by railway to the ship's side, and this
his lordship must know was a tedious and costly

process.
The Earl of DERBY said he was quite aware of this
drawback, but that all he could then sad was that the
subject was an important one and should receive the
best attention of the Government.
The Rev. Mr. Dam': We are much indebted to
your lordship for going so fully into the matter.
The Earl of DERBY : Well, if you do not get the
money it will not be the fault of the Earl of Eglin-
toun ; for I assure you he has written very strong
letters to me on the subject.
The Rev. Mr. DALY : We should be glad if your
lordship would at:t upon the recommendation of the
Earl of Eglintoun.
I The Earl of DERBY—(laughingl—Especially since
you have heard how he has written to me on the
subject. (Laughter.) Lord Eglintoun, indeed,
takes very great interest in the welfare of Galway
and the succ, ss of this enterprize.
The Rev. Mr. DALY : We believe he does, my lord,
and in the general welfare of Ireland. I think we
are much indebted to him for what he has already
done, and here, in the presence of so many English
and Irish gentlemen, I will say that it is felt in Ire-
land that his lordship has already done much for us.
(Hear, hear.) We know all a Prime Minister has to
think of, and will not detain your lordship further.
The Earl of DERBY: Indeed, you don't know all I
have to think of, or the half of it. (Hear, hear.) But
be assured that this matter shall receive our best
consideration, and that when we are in a position
to communicate with you, you shell hear from us.
Perhaps our communication had better be made
through the Earl of Eglintoun.
The deputation said it would afford them great
pleasure to receive a communication from his Excel-
lency, and having thanked the noble earl for his kind
reception retired.

763

PROMOTION AND RETIREMENT IN THE
HIGHER RANKS OF THE ARMY.
Commissioners appointed by her Majesty on
the 12th of April last, to inquire into the effect of the
system recommended in the report of the Royal
Commission dated the 17th of June, 1854, and into
the question of promotion and retirement in the
higher ranks of the army, commencing with the rank
of major, have just reported (in a blue-book) the
result of their serious deliberations.
The Commissioners feel hound to state that, so
far as a recourse to the colonel's list for the purpose
of finding efficient men for responsible command is
concerned, the necessity for so doing has by no means
passed away in the interval which has elapsed since
1854. They think the Commander-in-Chief has acted
for the good of the service in selecting colonels tor
command under the authority of the warrant of 1854.
As regards the change made in 1854, by which
deserving colonels might be promoted to the rank of
major general, irrespective of their seniority, under
certain safeguards and conditions, the Commissioners
admit the complaint that it presses hardly on
colonels who on attaining that rank expect to rise in
succession to that of major-general, as a reward for
past services, and they therefore recommend that all
colonels promoted to be major-generals after five
years' employment in responsible command with the
temporary rank of major-general, and all colonels
promoted to be major-generals for eminent services
in the field, shall be placed on a supernumerary list
of major-generals, and not be reckoned as part of the
fixed establishment until the time when they shall
have attained the rank of major general by seniority
—i.e., until the colonel who originally stood flirt senior
on the colonels' list to the officer promoted out of his
turn has become a major-general, after which the next
vacancy will be filled by the transfer of the supernu-
merary major.general to the fixed establishment ;
and that the major-generals who have already been
promoted out of their turn, and would not yet have
succeeded to the rank by seniority, shall be considered
as coming under this rule, but that they shall be
specially allowed to retain the pay of 25e. per day
which they acquired on being originally placed on the
fixed establishment. But this arrangement is in no
wise intended to diminish the advantages enjoyed by
major-generals specially promoted, but merely to
prevent their promotion from delaying that of officeis
standing above them in the list of colonels. The
supernumerary major-generals should therefore (it
is suggested) when absorbed into the fixed establish-
ment still preserve the seniority which they acquired
when, after a period of qualifying service with tempo-
rary rank, they were first confirmed es permanent
major-generals on the supernumerary list, and wilt
rise by that seniority to be lieutenant-generals in
succession. General officers promoted for distin-
guished services in the field will take their seniority
from the date of their promotion. To the supernu-
merary list the Commissioners decline to assign a
fixed limit, but they opine that, as a general rule, the
power of appointing colonels as temporary major-
generals should be exercised as sparingly as possible
in time of peace, and never without the greatest care
and consideration. The report next reviews the
change so much complained of—viz., that by which
a lieutenant colonel commanding a battalion or
holding certain equivalent staff appointments for
three years becomes a full colonel, unless shown to
be unfit. The Commissioners think it a pity that the
special brevet given in June, 1854, was not extended
to all the lieutenant-colonels dating prior to the 20th
of June, 1854. As regards the relief to be afforded
to these aggrieved officers (115 in number), it is
thought by the Commissioners that of two alterna-
tives—viz., allowing the operation of the warrant on
the lieutenant-colonels of 1854 to remain intact, or
replacing the lieutenant-colonels passed over
on the list of colonels according to their original
seniority—the adoption of the latter will entail less
hardship and inconvenience. The original error
should be rectified by granting and antedating an ex-
tension of the brevet given in 1854, so as to embrace
all the lieutenant-colonels who held that rank prior
to the 20th of-June, 1854. Having thus endeavoured
to remove the hardship entailed on then exisming
interests by the operation of the warrant of 1854, and
believing that the principle of that warrant is sound
and indispensable to the efficiency of the higher
ranks of the army, the Commissioners propose to
leave it undisturbed as regards the future, although
some modifications to facilitate and simplify its
working are recommended. And they lay down
certain principles by which they think its application
should be restricted. It is thought that the number
of general officers for the Guards and the Line, fixed
by the warrant at 1(X) officers on unattached pay, in
addition to the colonels of regiments, 234 in all, is
not now sufficient, and it is suggested that the
establishment should be increased by appointing
colonels to the three new regiments which have been
lately raised, and by adding 23 to the number of