The Express.
London, England, 1847-03-31 00:00:00

join _
giving their services to their country. (Bear, hear-) He
had not the least fear et the discharged soldiers under the
mew system leading the people --nt whom they nailed
- believed

amongst
into anything Illseinischief. `On the other hand, he _ _
'they would set a good esample by their order and loyalty.
=would be sailed up. every year for twelve days, and
then have the opportunity of mixing with the ether
soldiers. As to the expense, he did not anticipate any in-
grease. Where men took their discharge at the end of ton
yens, there would be a saving in the pension list ; but from
this he did not calculate ow much saving. He believed that
the bulk of them would re-enlist, having overtime all the
difficulties in a soldier's life, and would then hare a pension
todook fbrward to at the ender 21 years. The hon. and gal-
lant officer who opposed the further proceeding with this
bill. seemed to forget that. the period of writhe for the
soldier had for years past been gradually dwindling down.
He believed that the public mind was now made up
in favour of limited enlistment, and that the system
of unlimited enlistment would gradually die away. (Hear,
bean) If the unlimited syttem was Fiedler the-army, wky
had it not been introduced into the nary, where the period
except during the war, was only five years? (Hear.) Hi
thoixtht he bad a right to complain of the hon. and gallant
offices hoeing raised two debates on the principle of this bill.
He had first declared that he would not odder it any decided.
opposition; afterwards, having heard of something that had
taken. place in high quarters, he had them down and 'abed
for the correspondence that had passed on the subject be-
tween the government and the commander-in-chief. This
beim( refused, he had amused, most unwarrantably, that
the Duke of Wellington disapproved of the measure. (Hear,
hear.). This he lad no right whatever to do ; and certainly
the commander-in-chief would not thank him for throwing
upon him all the unpopulerit,, of which. the noble duke was
wholly innocent,of opposing: this measure. (Hear, hear.)
The boo. and gallant officer had said that he had weer
beard a-complaint on the sulgect of unlimited enlistment;
and this was very unhand, for it was not likely' that
the soldier% would make any complaint on a subject
on which they knew they could not obtain any relief.
Then ha had alleged that the men who.were enlisted! AN •
limited period would be less effective. Did he not know
that nearly the whole of the Peninsular army were enlisted
fora Eroded period? (Hear.) The hon. and gallant officer
bad spoken of the expenditure of 1810,000 dollars required
during the Peninsular war for re-enlistment. This sum
wouldthe sufficient fee the re-enlistment of no leas then
18,000 men, The whole number of men enlist.) in 1808
was 38a09 the decrease of the army at that time was about
nine per sent. per annum, or 10,00& in seven years, which
would leave 10,700 at the end of that period. The Penin-
sular army at that time was only me-sixth of the whole,
and oould not have contained mese than 1800. et these old
soldiers. He could: not, therefsm, see how the hon. and
gallant officer's point was carried out. In past of fact, it
wean= of two or-three years' service who had fought thine
very battles to whrnit the gallant officer had so proudly referred.
The men who contended at Waterloo were mere recruits.
Upon the score of humanity, tan this bill was fully justiied.
Experience proved that men. of from Ito 10 years' service
were those who.best withstood the influente of foreign cli-
mates. Take the East Indies. From an abstract of the
comparative rate of mortality amongst the troops there, from
the years 1820• to 1837, it appeared that between 18 and 20
years of age. the deaths were 16 per 1,000; from 20 to
t 2, 23 per 1400 ; from Tato 24, 34 per 1000 ; 25 to 30, when
ten years' service would have been completed, 5.5 per 1,000:
35 to 45, 63 per 1,0410 ; and between 45 and 55, 80 per 1,000;
showing that the harrest sac:rake of life was amongst
those Ilikale lenghtk of service ranged between 1
and 10 ran. (lieu, hear.) The returns from Ceylon, the
Mauritius, Jamaica, the Cape of Good Hope, and other co-
lonial stations, showed the same result. He could not hold
out any hope of any change in the principle of the measure.
It had not been adopted without mature consideration.
Undoubtedly the measure was an experiment, but it was one
so full of good proepect, that he had no hesitation in taking
upon himself the responsibility of proposing it. He called
Ilpon the house for an immediate decision, in order that the
utiny Bill might be procee2ed with.
Col. T. WOOD—The proposed change showed the advan-
tage of Mr. Wyndham's plan of enlisting for seven, fourteen,
or twenty-one years. He hoped it was not intended that
the soldier was to be turned loose upon society after the
beat years of his life had been spent in the service of his
country without a pension. (Hear, hear.) He did not
apprehend any danger to the state from the distribution of
discharged soldiers amongst the people. No such re-
suit had followed the disbanding of the militia at the
close of the last war. He would vote for going into com-
mittee on this bill, because he thought that it world give a
death-blow to the warrant of 183.3, and would lead to the
establishment of a new warrant on a perfectly new principle.
After a few words from Sir 11. De Lacy Evans and Cpl.
Reid, Bir H. Douglas withdrew his amendment, and the
house west into committee profound.
The CHAIRMAN reported progress, and the committee ad-
journed to this day.
FEVER (IRELAND) BILL.
On the order of the day being read for going into com-
mittee on this bill,
The Earl of LINCOLN said, that there was no doubt the
sooner this bill passed the better ; and drew the attention of
the house to the suggestions which he had made in August
hut, when fever was beginning to become rife in Ireland.
He would not move an amendment to the bill, but he thought
the government would have acted wisely if they had adhered
to the provisions of the bill of last year, and made the ex-
penses payable out of the poor rates in the usual manner.
Mr. LABOUCHERE said the bill had received the sane.
tion of the highest authorities who were most conversant
with the state of the country. It was a temporary bill con-
taining provisions which would certainly be most objection-
able in a permanent measure ; but he thought no argument
could be advanced in favour of the application of the public
money to feed the poor, which would not eqnally apply to a
measure, the object of which was to arrest pestiLece and
fever.
After a few words from Mr. Henley,
Mr. VESEY said it was absolutely necessary to provide
!br the interment of the dead in Ireland. Otherwise fever
nd pestilence would spread throughout that country.
The bill then passed through committee.
The house adjourned at a quarter past one.