The Sun.
London, England, 1855-02-24 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 24, 1855.

not believe the Government had obtained much strength
by the change they had made in the Minister of War. Of
Lord Aberdeen he might say that no man, whether Con-
aervative or Liberal, ever followed more willingly than be
in the support of liberal measures. The same might be
said of the Duke of Newcastle who at the same time, was
one of the ablest and most indefatigable Ministersthatever
existed. Much had been said of the aristocracy and of the
army, but he could not believe that the system of purchase
in the army was at fault. He called on the house to give
to the new Premier a fair trial. He gave his full adhesion
to the noble lord, although he did not sit with his knees to
the noble lord's back—(a laugh)—and he trusted that the
house would not fail to dothe same thing. But while doing
so he implored the noble lord not to beled awayby extreme
opinions respecting the balance of power, and by chimerical
notions about oppressed nationalities, from bi inging the
war to a speedy and an honourable conclusion.
Mr. PALK thought that the noble lord was to have formed
a powerful Government—strong in the unison of principles
and sentiments, but it appeared that the first-questionthat
came under discussion had scattered the elements of this
Government. There was, however, something much more
important to the country than the rise and fall of Govern-
ments. It was not possible that the house could go on week
after weekhearing the explanations of Ministers and ex-Mi-
nisters, and doing nothing besides. They had been premised
at the beginning of the session great and important mea-
sures of reform, but where are they ? Were they to be
put aside for ever ? It was a disastrous fact that an army
of 56,000 men was totally disorganised and ruined ; but
a committee of that house was not necessary, and they
should take care not to do anything that would leave the
country without a Government, without an army, and
without a general.

Mr. LA.I.SIO said he would support the present, as he
had supported the late Government, in the hope that they
would at the earliest practicable moment secure a safe and
honourable peace. But more immediately pressing than
this question was the state of our military and naval
establishments as disclosed by the late campaign. The
country had spent millions upon millions on behalf of
these establishments, which as a business man he might
call the insurance of the country, but now, at the moment
of need, they found that they had been insaring in an
insolvent concern. Ho could assure the home that the
pride of the commercial men of this country was sting
to the quick, on finding that their efforts to place this
country in the van of improvement were frustrated by
the incompetency of our military establishments. He be-
lieved that incompetency oould only be removed by the
adoption of the principles essential to all commercial suc-
cess— undivided responsibility, division of labour, promo-
tion of merit. If the noble lord would undertake this
task of army reform, he could promise him the support
of the Liberals in the house, and of the country at large.
But, whether the noble lord undertook the task or not,
it must be done.