The Express.
London, England, 1849-03-23 00:00:00

I'HE EXPRESS, FRIDAY EVENING, MARCH 23. 184 e.

to pass rouses of death noises it was composed of 13
Ann, szeept within entakt limits. This nun was
ommalds4 at Anot, and, therefore, sot within the
jertedistisa whisk alone could have made any Inter
somber of oaken a competent tribunal to pronouns' a
( etsesteneo—and ft consisted only of saves abets.
) But dimmer yet another informality. It was de-
eland that the stints should not consist of len than nine
caorre to give offset is its seaman Now, how the sentence
of seven could comply with this condition he was yet to
learn. The plea of inconvenience was one he bad been
surprised Wheat urged by the right bon. gentleman against •
ens which involved questioos is important to law and At-
tica. He should support lb. motion.
lir. HUME explored • similar intention. Than wins
souse points romuctel with then truant:ions which loudly
ailed foe szplanation. What he want. d know was, why
were their mould sentences saspended over the heads of
these men for nisei long months—most of the men is that
interval, too, being allowed to do duty of • certain kind—if it
will intended finally to punish them ? (blear, bear.) No
man was better swan than he was of the absolute ne-

unity for maintaining dirsipline and anhoTecinttloalnas
Indian army, and repenting by exemplary runishment any
attempt at mutiny. Bet to keep such sentences as these in
at eyanoe for such a perisd appeared to him a proceeding as
illegal as it was cruel. Then came the nest question : if
there was anything in the manse that it had been attempted
to plead for the delay—namely, the difficulty of Sadie' an
adequate punster of officers properly to conatitu.e the court
which gas to try the offenden —why were not the men
mcrched at once Into some one of their numerous mill-

tory station', in any of the three pn aileneTe;,;wherein
the assistance of an abundant supply of officers could have
been immediately sowed? Far from thinking that this
was, for reasons which the right hon. baronet who had just
spoken had rather hinted at than stated, an improper time
for instituting such an 'equity as it was the ohject of the
mottos for these papers to e.tablish, he contended that this
was, of all others, the mat 'roper time for such a purpose.
It wee now avid or nth' to impress the minds of alt our
native soldiers is India with the conviction, that the British
parliament would insist on their being treated nem rd-
ing to the institution of law and justtea. Here had
been great responsibility incurred, in the first instance, ho
the estreordieary conduct of superior authorities somewhere
He wanted to know, first, who ordered the war batty .1.
lowance to be withdrawn? Was that withdrawal. after-
wards repudiatel by the act of the Ineilan government the m-
, salves, a legal or en Illegal act ? He, foe one, attached no
sort of value to the report of Mr. Lein, on which the right
bon. baronet hail laid mach 'trees in his speech. He thought
it bad been introduced lots the debate rather for the purpose
of distracting the attention of the house from tte main ques-
tion before 1:, than affording any itstomstion to guide r e
judgment of hon. members upon it. Tee point which laei.
they the right hon. baronet nor Mr. Lewin's ratement d
toselsed was the al•importsnt one: had the Marquis of
Twewidale exceeded his powers sad the law by ordering the
execution of those two men so long aster 'heir senteace bed
been passed witout being acted upon ? Ile was of opinion
that these papers should be granted.

Mr. ELLIOT desired to t teplain the me in which the
disursion had originated about the order fur the reduction of
the butte allowance. No doubt, such an order was issued by
a mistake on the part of the official flounce authorities at
Madras • but the mistake was diaocertud, and rectified
within twoi days. In that time a new order was promul
gaud, retracting that which bad diminished the buts, and
putting the allowance on the old footirg. When it wee
argued, therefore, that this reduction had been the cane a
the meeting of these eery', it should be understood that
they continued under such misapprehension tt r no longer a
time than forty-eight hours. How could such a pies, then,
be urged for the insubordinate cores to which the men
commuted themtelves ? The bon. gentlemnn then entered
into a recapitulation of the facts as they hod oceurr.d, to
chew bow impossible it would have been tcund to consaute
or assemble the court in question, before it was really found
practicable to convene it at Arcot.

Mr. AGLIONBY supported the motion. He thought it
doe to the obaracters of all those connected with the presecu
tion of the court-nesreiel, as well as the charier's. of the pro.
eeedings itself, that some further explanation should be
gismo. The right hon. baronet intimated that he had the
means of giving an explanation—that he had the papers in
bit possession—but, he declined to do so. It would be as
well now, perhaps, alter the lapse of so many years that
the subject had not been revived, but as it had been raised it
was absolutely necessary that the public mind should be
satisfied, and that the matter should be tit at rest. The
hon. member for Limerick, quoting from the articles of
war, clearly showed that the court-mat Cal itself was illegal
I —that injustice had been done, and that the law had been
tranegreesed—yet, not ono wordi of explanation had been
offered with respect to that subject by the right hon. haroret.
The public mind would re quire to be satisfied, ani after a
pubic discussion of the matter in parliament the papers re-
, latin.z to it should certai:.ly be produced.
Sir R. PEEL was unwilling that the debate should close
without saying a few words. He could not, however, agree
whit the hon. and l-arned eenieman who spoke le s', who
mid that it was a real misfortune that the question was re.
rived at all, especially after the lame deo long a time. It
was a very disagreeable question, nu doubt, but it was com-
petent to any me fiber of that busies to bring it forward, and
they bad no option but to proceed to debate it. Why, every
night they had disagreeable questions, butthet was no reason
why they should not be con-idered. I hey were completely
dependent upon every individual member of the house. The
hoe. and learned gentleman brought forward this motion
acting under a sense of duty—(a laugh)—buta thnugn
thee are maey Rend:met lets prudent and leer diseteet
than the hon. gentleman--(laughter)—he (Sir it P el,
thought it the undoubted privilege of every member ol
that house to submit any queetisu he thought deserving of
enquiry, to the nosic• of the home, however disagreeatle
the discussion might prove. He felt bound to admit that he
had no recollection of the facts. But, in all such questions
as those there must be a great ameunt of confidence 'laced
in men to whom control of such subjects was given, and
great allowance should be made kr them in some difficult
circumistancts in which they were cce.sionally placed. lie
certainly should say that frees all be had ever men, known,
or heard of the Marquis of Tweeddale, he (Sir R. Peel) had
a strorg cone clan that he was the last man in the world
who could be charged with any excess of duty. (Hear.)l
What was alleged against the noble lerd—not that the
punishment was infi.c ed suddenly or simultaneously ; for
eine months elapsed alter the cemmistion of the offence,
and before the infliction of the punishment ? The TS were
then 13 capital convictions, and two only were carried isle
execuii en. Surely there was no want of clemency thee I
The commander-in-chief (the Duke eif Wellington) pew
totally examined into all the facts of the case and Mitoses
ately approved of them. Well then, was it right, after all
this, for the Hones of Commons to review this question
determine it? (Hear, hear.) If the House of Commons
chose to supersede the authority of the commander-in-chief
in such matters they might, but all he (Sir It Peel) could
Fay was, that the British army would be infinitely less satis-
fied than they have hitherto been. (Hear, hear.) The
right hon. baronet deprecated the House of Commons deal-
ing with a question of this sort, and opposed the motioo.
Mr. AGLIONBY, in explanation, said he objected
to the right of any hon. member to ask for the production of
papers, nor did he say that the convenience of the house
should be consulted b fore a member exercised his Fri
vivilege to bring forward any action he thought fit.
The ATTORNEY GENERAL thought the house would
do well to dispose of the motion, without going into a detail
of the fasts at all. They should assume that the Tenderly
constituted military tribunals lied done their duty properly,
as nothing to the contrary had been shown. Yet the
pre-eat motion was in the nature of en appeal to the
lay and unpractised members of that house to review
the proceedings of the court-martial in question. He op-
posed the motion because it was a most dangerous precedent,
and, in his opinion, it would be destructive of all discipline
in the army. If such a precedent as this was set, court.-
menial would be indeterminable, and military discipline

- - .
would soon end altogether. The professional experience of
the hon. and learned gentleman who had brought forward
the motion would enable him to see at once the ineneveni-
once of allowing lay members of the house to pronounce an
opinion upon the validity of proceedings at courts-martial,
ap; roved and affirmed by the properly-constituted authori-
ties. The hon. and learned gentleman had done his duty :n
bringing forward the motion, but he (the Attorney-General)
trusted, after what had just passed, he would see the neces-
sity of withdrawing it.
Mr. ANSTEY said as to the alleged excuse for the delay
that had taken place after the eataurbsion of the offence and
before the court-menial was held, it amounted to nothing
It was said that the prisoners being in Bengal could
not be tried by the Marquis of Tweeddale artoording to
the Madras articles of war. That was no explanation; for
k eras admitted th the prisoners were at Arcot, in the pre-
sidency of Madras. The act of mutiny charged was refusi,g
to saddle hones, and there was not a wyllable of explanation
ventured with respect to that, whilst theeaffia, which were
mere matter of sggravation, w, re attempted to be explained.
Ho contended that this was a proper ease for inqu'ry, and in-
sisted that there were many precedents in which the house
reviewed proceedings at courts-martial, and punished unjust
judges and juries, and pr. fligate attorney-generals too
(laughter.) The proceedings by court-martial against Lord
Bradenell (now Lard Cardigan) were reviewed by the Huse
of Commine' a-41 the remit was highly honourable to the
noble lord. Mr. Anatey, therefore, insisted that parlitment
had juriedietion to institute an inquiry, and so convinced
was he that this was a proper cue for et, that he was deter-
mined to take the sense of the house upon the question.
The house then divided.
For the motion l4
Against it

GAOLS IN IRELAND.
Sir W. SOMERVILLE obtained leave to bring in a bill
to continue an set of the 10:h and 11th years of her Ma-
i jesty's reign, to authorise for one year, and to the end of the
then next eresies of •, the removal of prisoners
from the *maga& Gi Ireland in eases of epidemic diseases.

RECOVERY OF WAGES (IRELAND) BILL.
The report on this bill was consklared, and the bill ordered
to b. road • third tine to-day.
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said (in
reply to Er. Hutto) that the NirOgatiaa Bill would be
taken to-morrow (this day) ' • bat they would not go Into a
committee of supply until that btl passed through coat-
mines.
PROTECTION OF JUSTICES (IRELAND) BILL.
Tile report on this bill having has amidosod strirod
to, and it beteg moved that the bill be & dna
to-day,
Mr. J. O'CONNILL owned tbe meat altogether se
beim ieheele=tbe pest amm, end es derbies him of
al woe of iseeklmilee iebe obi unjustly.
He thin moved Liiillitebs pet elf he ifs meedis.
Major ILACHALL dedimie4 the gentry of Ireland from
tb that tbsy w
e aspeteltioaeld est weinstly.