The Express.
London, England, 1849-04-14 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, SATURDAY EVENING, APRIL 14, 1849.

runt by one tenth ? Instead of that what do they do? They
send orders from the Horse Guards to disearee 10,000 drunken
mea and men of bad character—men who hove been
put in limbo and flogged—(laughter)—keeping up 'he whole
staff, the whoa establishments, the whole skeleton of the
regiment, and leaving the PM number of <San. I wcnder
if then are any drunken officers or bad characters atuors
them? (Loud cheers.) They keep every general, and
major, and captain stilt standing, with the same pay, though
he has got tower men to look after. (Hear. bear.) What
does all this mean ? I believe it means—and I may as well
out with it at once, though I believe I shall each it when I
get bath to London—it just means this that the government
lo upon this cry
fewer fit, such as has been seen before. They say we must
attend to this ay ; we must meet this demand—in appear-
mass at hest; we will reduce these 10,000 men to toasty
them, aid give an appearaoce of economy • but we will keep
the whole aeletoa standing like the scaffolding of a house,
so that we may build up the edifies aria as moon as these
Ithancial reformen have tamed tit& eyes another way.
(Applause.) Well, now, I say this is calculated to
lohg us into disrepute ; because it seems as if this reduction
is 'shaded not is piss upon the pow Only, but le else aliens
lobed to let loose upon socdety Ina who an he of no use, but
who may be man buthmsonte to keep than in the army.
(Hear, bear.) The gems rule has been applied in the dock-
yards. They have been sending away from the dockyards
shipwrights and others; and I have had letter upon letter
Gem these dockyards, telling me of the scenes which have
taken place when them men have been dismissed without
castor, and it has been said, " That fellow Cbbden is the
reason why you have bola turned away ;" and I hive got
latter upon letter saying that it is my fault. But go to tie'
deekyerda and see the number of supernumeraries employed
there, the number of admirals and others who knsw nothing
of their duties, yet must be kept without one shilling reduc-
tion In their wages—(har)—though they have got fewer
MU to look otter. This, I maintain, is calculated to bring
lonasial reform into disrepute. We have heard it said—l
halos the Duke of Richmond said it somewhere—that if you
wlirel I I Or: alai'
d thejw
e armyob Olureirouldi::lo7bawsuwaviillpaie,bebsaajnihdlike7seopktta"asbkinPoot-tesuudouienna:;Ptthembilentriitraulniryouthter:
going into the workhouse, which I don't believe would he
the ease with many, nobody pretends that you would have to
keep the officers at thaw writhouse. (Laughter and applause )
Let us meet this fallacy, as you will hear of it after Ws even-
ing. If you had ail the men that are in the army to keep la
the Teo:blame's, how mach would they cost ? Do you think
they would cost seven millions sterling ? It dote not cost
that, you know, to keep a million and a half of paupers in this
country. Every man of the army, I should say, taking offi-
cers into account, costs 1001. a year ; but they would not cost
1001. a year in the workhouse. Now if any man talks to
you of this, just remind him that oar reduction
would begin at the other end. It is not our
plan to dismiss the men and keep up the officers. I
coeifeas, though I may be blamed for it, that I should like to
begin with a field marshal or two. (Loud cheers.) Well,
you know, they blame us exceedingly in the House of Com-
mons if we make this a question concerning the aristocracy.
They ray it is not the aristocracy that is concerned in this
matter. We are going to put this to the test by and by. I
have told you how they propose to reduce the army ; here is
a proposal new on the books of the House of Common b
my indefatigable friend, Mr. Hume—(lend applause)—and
the vote will come on befere long—before another month I
pre diet—that we shall reduce the number of admirals from
150 to 100. (Hear.) I will show you how. We have now
more than 160 admirals ; and, mark me, you can't employ
more than fourteen of them do what you will with them !
(Laughter, and Hear, hear.) In the height of the French
war, when we had a thousand armed vessels afloat, we
never employed forty admirals at one time. You cansot
now employ fourteen, though you have now 150. My
friend Mr. Home's proposal is this, that there shell be
only one post aphis promoted to the rank of admiral
for every three admirals who may die, until the
number of admirals is reduced to 100. Mind, at
present, for every admiral dying there is one poet captain
promoted. This reasocable proposal of Mr. Hume's is of-
by government, and it is talked of in the clubs of
Lend= as something very little short of high treason.
When that propoul gooses on keep your eyes on it, and look
to the votes: They say that we do wrong when we call this
ea aristocratical system; they say it is no aristocratical
matter • we shall test it upon this question of admirals. You
see how they prepare to reduce the army, and If you find
that they oppose this motion of Mr. Hume's, I do not see
that we shall be very immodest or audacious if we ray that
it is am aristocratical question. (Cheers.) I have said that one
way of reducing our establishments is to alter our colonial
arum. Now there is another quieten I want to see altered.
We keep too many soldiers in this country and in Ireland. Yon
are aware that there are at this moment, as near as passible,
60,000 bayonets kept up is Ireland, at the expense of this
country, and paid ouJ of the Consolidated Fund. I have
heard qualified persona my that the 12,000 or 14,000 police
there are the most highly-trained and fittest men in Europe
In addition to these, the pensinere or invalids are liable to
muster when called upon, so that we have altogether very
nearly fifty thousand armed men in Ireland. (Hear, heir.)
I believe this is more than the whole number of the British
troops engaged at Waterloo. What an they there fore They
are employed, I will admit, to keep down a very restless and
insubordinate population; but why are they insubordinate ?
Is the system of maintaining an armed force to be kept up
for ever or not ? (Criss of "No.") Then who is to alter it ?
I say that no government is deserving of support which
cannot find the means of governing Ireland without the
enormous and overwhelming expense of keeping up that
army in Ireland. (Applause.) I throw that wholly os
the executive government, and I say that that executive
government is bound to resign—(applause)—and more
especially do I say that this whig government is bound to re-
sign unless they can find means to keep the peace in Ireland
without putting you to the expense of this army. I speak out
upon this question, because I have been once or twice dragged
through the mud in voting for coercion bills for Ireland ;
and I have, I confess, walked out of the house in disgust
from coercion bills for Ireland. We want someting mere
for Ireland—something more than bayonets and poor laws.
(Cheers) Now, at this moment, there is a deal lull in
Ireland; no political action; no political feeling. The
people are too much horrorotruck—too much exhausted
with their too interne sufferings to think of politics. There
was a time more suited for a minuted' to devise
measures for remedying the evils of Ireland. If it is the
spirit of landlordism to stand in the way of improvement
in Ireland—unless our minister in Ireland is in alliance
with that spirit of landlordism—and ankle he will sub-
mit a plan to remedy the evils which afflict the man of
the people, regardless of the sinister influence of the land-
lordism of Ireland—(hear, hear)—if he will throw hirostif
upon the pe :plc of England, and *ill undertake to say "Here
is a plan devised not to give a poor-law at your expose—not
to give loans—not to maintain a great army—not to place a
tem cieatrice over the evils of Ireland, but a remedy to
the foundation of the evils, and give permanent hap-
plasm to Ireland." Let the government throw themselves
ea the people of England with such a measure as this, and
M they were turned out to-morrow by a vote of the House of
Chtheions, or of the House of Lords, the people of this coun-
try will carry that government back to power ten times
et then ft ever was before. (Vociferous cheering.)
this is strictly a matter of economy. (Cheer.)
• seellest drains made upon the people of this country
hr the het four years have bean for loans and grants, and
the expenses of military establishments in Ireland. (Hear,
=
I speak of the executive government, and I
ray the same of the present Lord Lieutenant, Lard
Cheendon. He is a nobleman of whom everybody de-
mo to speak well—(mar, hear)—but I would apply unto
▪ the Scriptural maxim " Woe unto you when all men
got well of you "—(laughtee)—for you ere apt to stand on
Ile pod word, and are not anxious to merit it by your
• idlest Lord Clarendon is a nobleman whom everybody
MI6 eggressim him Rut hie. I had a prestige in his
Simlemileassee I liked his brother Mr. Charles ViAierr, be-
im I saw the elder brother. Bat it is not enough for the
Lord Lieuteuant to keep the peace in Ireland with fifty
mad bayonet., at your expense, and with no threatened
Inewmesdon. That Is doing nothing to maintain his fair
ha with this generation, or to hand down his name to
I believe that Lord Clarendon possesses the
views upon political economy and political matters
gimerally. Let him apply those views to the condition of tee-
th* nation. He has oaly to exercise moral courage, and be
wtgldßave himself *swift ot redressing the evils of society in
bind, where you have net fewer than 160 different hu-
ssies ter the lodgment of amps. It is generally a great en-
thugthent ; and the peopled this country should declare
nolaminister deserves their confidence who is not able to
a measure totally different from that of any man
near in power. Lord John Rumen aye you cannot apply s
passim he Ireland. guppies yea cannot get any plan to
Wed all you desire in 10, 20, or even 60 years' let us, I
asmtave s plan commensurate with the evil, and if it be
t from grants or loans of money or rates in aid, so
mask the better, because neither grants nor loans nor rates
In aid ma aseemary for the regeneration or prosperity of
behind. I have spoken of Inland; but I will oome now
11114 lab &MO MeMthat on delicate ground, that we have
tee um semen is BegiaM. We have departed from the
manias of our ancestors fa having soldien to keep the pews
lai=reL (Hear, hest) I wia not confine myself to the
that soldiers are kept to maintain the institutions
of the MIIMUU I will admit, if you like, what I have heard
Masi in the House of Commons, that soldiers are not kept to '
sainbia the institutions of the country, or to uphold the
Sone; but I will say that it is contrary to our ancient oon-
edestioml maxima, sad contrary to the interests of the
le,
military arm of the country to keep
hear.)~s pines. I do not say that, in these path
my sot have hiss necessary to employ the sailiterilme.egee.
serve oda, bat I my that you have been meekwely
&no; Misses upon the military to keep the paw I
with great mean upon the constant LIMON of the
in the neighbourhood of all your large tewns.
les% new my that it may not have been necessary to employ
beep to kmp order; I run sorry for it : but what I with
Ss bast Is, that something may be done to diminish the Drew
thy for having resenne to the troops to keep order. (Hear,
hear.) We have bed a return laid before parliament of the
11111/61f et kumelbs in this manta, sad the periods whoa
they wean (Hear, hear.) It was a rotas imbed
hr s *sot to that for which I will use It It
to a view to show then
of asesnmemb-
=et the sleeping-room.,the rentiletlea,
Ile and so on, together with the dale of
she eeeilen of nwnylarrack. Now, it is to me a very fa
tirade' and from it I learn that before 1790 suck
a Wag m it_ barrack in the neighbourhood of a
large town did Ist met. I scarcely find one in the whole
list. We had 30 or 40 stations for soldiers in the
neighbourhoods of our large seaports and arsenals
sad fortified places bat previous to 1790 there
wee scarcely a permanent barrack for the use
of the troops In the neighbourhood of a large town. It wee
a maxim of our forefathers in those days, a maxim held by
Lord Chatham, who declared that born the moment there is