The Sun.
London, England, 1855-03-02 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, MARCH 2, 1855.

[IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

instance. Ho moved that the bill be read a second
time that day six months.
Mr. HADFIELD seconded the amendment, regret:.
ting that, amongst all the evils that affected railways,
the bitterness of religious strife should be one of them.
He understood the majority of the shareholders had re-
jected the bill, and it would therefore be nothing less
than forcing it upon them if the house passed the second
eading.
Mr. B. DENISON supported the bill, and insisted
that the select committee was the proper tribunal to
decide whether the bill should pass or not. In the
meanwhile, he might state that these schools and the
church were absolutely required to meet the wants of
the large body of mechanics which the company had
collected together in the neighbourhood of Doncaster.
Mr. LOCKE thought it behoved the House of Com-
mons to consider whether money raised for one purpose
should be diverted to another. He, for one, felt that
it would be establishing a bad precedent if they passed
this bill, and he would therefore rather leave these
schools aed church to I e erected by the voluntary con-
tributions of the shareholder.=, as had been done in the
case of other companies.
Lord STANLEY viewed this bill, not as a question
of detail, but as a question of principle, and the house
was just as competent to decide it as a committee up-
stairs. Well, then, he had no difficulty in deciding that
the matter should be left to the voluntary efforts of the
shareholders rather than enforced by an Act of Parlia-
ment.

HOUSE OF LORDS—(YESTERDAY.)
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the wool-
sack at five o'clock.
SPEEDY TRIAL OF OFFENDERS BILL.
Lnrd BROUGHA.M presented a petition, signed by
the merchants, bankers, and other inhabitants of Cam-
bridge, complaining of the present state of the criminal law
in respect to the prosecution for petty larcenies, and
praying that jurisdiction be given to the magistrates to
deal with all such cases. Also a petition from the cor-
poration of Portsmouth to the same effect. The noble
and learned lord also laid on the table of the
house a copy of the presentment of tthe grand jury of the
county of Sussex at last quarter sessions, conveying
the same prayer.
ROMAN CATHOLIC PROCESSIONS IN TUAM.
Tile Earl of DERBY said, in reference to a question
put to the Government a few nights ago by a noble lord
as to whether the attention of the Government was
called to the fact of processions of Roman ecclesiastics
in Tuali having recently taken place, he wished to ask
whether the law officers of the Crown had been in-
structed to take any steps for the prevention of the

offence ?
Earl GRANVILLE said he believed the law officers
of the Crown had been consulted on the subject, and
it was their opinion that the provisions of the act
alluded to only referred to the regular clergy and not to
the working clergy.
The Earl of DERBY asked whether the noble earl
bad any objection to state the grounds upon which they
had come to such conclusion ?
Earl GRANVILLE said he was not quite sure whe-
ther the law officers of Ireland were unanimous in that
opinion, but the question was ultimately, referred to
the English law officers, who had given it as their
opinion that the clause referred to the regular and not
to the secular clergy.
The Earl of DERBY quoted the words of the clause,
with the view of showing that it comprehended all ec-
clesiastics of the Roman Catholic Church. He was not
disposed to give any opinion as to the policy of the law,
but it was most important that that particular provi-
sion should be clearly understood.
The Earl of EGLINTON said that during the time he
bad the honour of holding the office of Lord-Lieutenant
of Ireland, he could confidently say that the law officers
of the Crown entertained not the shadow of a doubt as
to the illegality of those processions.
Lord ST. LEONARDS was understood to say the
law was clear in dealing with such processions, whether
regular or secular, of the Roman Catholic clergy.
The Lord CHANCELLOR said from the reading of
the clause it appeared to him there was no prohibition
to a Roman Catholic ecclesiastic wearing his habili-
ments. The words, "in the habits of their order,"
seemed to him only to apply to those in orders. The
act was a very stringent one, therefore they should
take care how it was applied.
After some further observations the subject dropped.
THE WAR INQUIRY.
A Messenger from Mr. Roebuck's committee applied
at the bar of their lordships' house asking permission
for the Duke of Newcastle to attend and give evidence
before that committee.
The request was unanimously agreed to, and their
lordships sent their answer to the Commons by a mes-
senger of their own.
LUNACY REGULATION ACT AMENDMENT
BILL

Mr. BOUVERIE also believed the house was com-
petent to decide the question, and upon the principle
that " property had its duties as well as its rights," he
should support the second reading.
Mr. LABOUCHERE believed the house would be
doing great injury to the Church of England if it passed
this bill. Much better would it be for the house to
leave these religious questions to be decided by the
shareholders themselves.

Mr. WADDINGTON, speaking as an active mem-
ber of the railway world, had no hesitation in support-
ing this bill, as one which was absolutely necessary for
meetinc, the moral and spiritual wants of the dependents
on the Great Northern Railway. It was quite hopeless
to think of relying upon voluntary efforts.
Mr. BRIGHT urged the itnpolioy of Parliament
forcing railway companies to provide church accommo-
dation for their servants. If they onoa admitted that
principle where was it to end ?
Mr. GLYN preferred relying upon the voluntary
principle to resorting to a bill of this nature. Surely
the proprietors of the Great Northern Railway were
sufficiently opulent to provide for the religious wants
of their servants without having recourse to a measure
of this sort.
Mr. LAING took a similar view of the bill.
Mr. B. DENISON seeing that the feeling of the
house was against him, asked leave to withdraw the
bill.
The bill was accordingly withdrawn.
NOTICES OF MOTION.

Mr. SCOIT gave notice that on Monday next he
should ask the Government whether any provision was
intended to be made for the appointment of a chaplain
to every one of the ships about to proceed to the Baltic
and other places ? He should a'so ask, when the Under
Secretary of State was in his place, whether the Board
had taken any efficient steps fur the establishment of a
system of communication between the engine-driver and
the guard on every passenger train on every line.
Mr. COBBETT gave notice that on that day fortnight
he should move for leave to bring in a bill to regulate
the hours of labour in factories, and to provide a better
system of inspection. (Hear, hear.)

This bill was read a second time.
CONSOLIDATED FUND (3,300,0001.) BILL.

This bill was read a second time.
CONSOLIDATED FUND (20,000,0001.) BILL.

This bill was also read a second time.
COMMON LAW PROCEDURE ACT AMEND-
MENT BILL.
The LORD CHANCELLOR moved the second
reading of this bill, which was agreed to.
The Earl of EGLINTON moved for a copy of a letter
addressed by the Hon. T. F. Kennedy, on the 15th of
July, 1854, to his Grace the Duke of Argyll, chairman
of a committee then sitting on the subject of the Crown
estates of Kilconcourse. In doing so the noble earl
entered somewhat fully into the subject.
The Earl of ARGYLL, in answer to the observations
of the noble earl, said, the letter, a copy of which the
noble earl required, was not in existence ; therefore he
could not produce it.
A VOTE OF THANKS TO THE COLONIES.
The Earl of CARNARVON rose to ask whether it
was the intention of her Majesty's Government to pro-
pose a vote of thanks, or some other public acknow-
ledgment, to those colonies or dependencies of the Bri-
tish Crown who, either by their respective legislatures
or otherwise, hail evinced their sympathy with the
mother country by moral or pecuniary proffers of assist-
anse. The noble earl entered at some length into the
subject, and urged that their lordships should
act in this matter, although there was no precedent
for so doing. The noble earl then enumerated the Vari-
ous sums that the colonies had contributed to the Pa-
triotic Fund, amongst which he said Canada bad sent
20,0001., her sister, Nova Scotia, had sent 2,000/., Van
Diemen's Land had sent 2,0001., Australia had sent
4,0001., and other places similar large sums.
Earl GRANVILLE said he agreed with the
noble earl, that precedent ought not to govern them in
this case. Her Majesty had received assurances of as-
sistance from various colonies, and most gracious answers
had been returned to them. With respect to the question
of the noble earl, he thought there would be some diffi-
culty as to the exact form of the vote of Vianks, and
as he (Earl Granville) was given to understand that
further assistance was on its way irom other colonies to
this country he thought it would be premature to act at

present.
Earl GREY thought that this question was a more
serious one than it seemed to he considered by his
noble friend who had just sat down. He should cer-
tainly have liked to see her N ajesty's Government adopt
a decided course with respect to either one way or the
other. He did not think that this was an occasion on
which, upon the mere impulse of feeling, they should
set aside the practice of former years. He was at all
events quite sure of this, that if such a step as that
now suggested ought to be adopted, it should have been
proposed to the house by the Government six weeks
ago.
The Earl of DERBY very much concurred with the
view taken by the noble earl who had just sat down, in
regard to the surprise which he had expressed at the
answer of the Government to the question addressed to
them. He thought that the constitutional question was
one deserving of serious consideration on the present
occasion. And he was quite of opinion that they should
not allow themselves to be rein away with by their feel-
ings, and be led, by an impulse of gratitude for the feel-
ing displayed by the colonists, to do that which, in
future, might be found an inconvenient precedent. In
expressing his doubts of the propriety of such a course
as that suggested by the noble earl (the Earl of Garner-
von), he not only did justice to the motives that had
actuated him, in proposing it, but rejoiced that the ques-
tion should have been brought before their lordships,
because it gave an opportunity for declaring that, whe-
ther they should assent or object to the proposal, yet on
that side of the house, as on the other, there could be
but one feeling of intense gratification and satisfaction at
the course pursued by the various colonies, and at the
proofs they had given of their sympathy with the cause
in which they were engaged, as well as of the good
feeling they cherished towards this country, and the
community ofnineter:,asts acinuditgelosryurwehitchhatthtelyiefrealtcotgoneixseisat
b
and responsible Ministers of the Crown would have duly
responded to the various addresses Tieived from
was
the
colonies. (Hear, hear, hear.) Crown
the proper source from which answers to such
addresses ought to prog,eed, and the responsible Minis-
ter of the Crown was the proper channel of communi-
cation. The colonies might rely upon it that any ex-
pression of the sense which her Majesty entertained of
the loyalty evinced by the colonies at this great crisis,
would have the full concurrence of this and the other
House of Parliament. He should be glad to see the
answers forwarded to the various addresses laid on the
table, in order that Parliament might have the oppor-
tunity of testifying its appreciation of them.
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE 'understood that all
his noble friend (Earl Granville) had said was that some
ackno wledgement of the colonial addresses should be
made, and he met the suggestion of the noble earl on the
cross-benches (the Earl of Carnal-von) by saying that it
would he utterly unworthy of this country if some ac-
knowledgement of them were not made. As to the
supposition of the noble earl opposite that there had
been soiree remissness on the part of the Government in
calling into action the military exertions of the colonists,
he could :assure the noble earl that be was entirely mis-
taken in -supposing that there had been any indisposition
on the part of the Queen's Government to invite, receive,
and encourage, by every means in their power, such
exertions as either the Government or individuals in the
different colonies might be disposed to make in further-
ance of the warlike operations in which we were en-
gaged. Propositions bad been entertained, and were
now being e ntertained with that view. If there were
any duty 103 posed on her Majesty's Government more
sacred than another at the present crisis, it was that of
collecting s trength from every quarter, with the view
of condenei rig it into an imposing mass of force.
The Earl of DERBY asked if the noble marquis
would lay a a the table the answers sent to the addresses
• received ?
The Marq of LANSDOWNE said this should be
done.
The Earl of HARROWBY anticipated that the con-
nection bet ween the mother country and the colonies
would be ice -merited more closely than ever by the com-
mon exert is ins called forth by the war, especially if co-
lonial trod! is and officers should be employed in it,
Their ion dships adjourned at seven o'clock.

HOTJSI OF COMMONS—YESTERDAY.
The SPI AKER took the chair shortly before four
o'clock.

NEW MEMBER.
Mr. DE] ALWYN took the oaths and his seat for
S wanseA
GREJ VIC NORTHERN RAILWAY BILL.
On the i notion ford e second reading of the Great
Northern. Railway (urch and Schools at Doncaster)
Bill,
Mr. FENWICK opposed the bill upon the broad
commercial principle that money raised for one object
ought no t to be directed to another. Besides many of the
shareltold ers objected to the Church from conscientious
motives, ; and it was unjitst to attempt to accomplish that
by compulsion which ought to be left entirely to volun-
tary effort 1. In the Great Western and the London
and North Western Co mpanies, the church and schools
were established by voluntary subscriptions, and there
ought to 1), no deviqtion frog that rule in the present

soldier in her Majesty's army. The noble lord said, that
although he felt he had more need than usual to ask the
kind indulgence of the house, he did not think hon. gen-
tlemen would consider that an apology was needed from
any member who might take up a portion of their time
in asking their attention to a question of such great im-
portance and interest at the present moment as the system
of promotion in the army and our military organisation.
(Hear.) At a moment like this, when we were engaged in
a great contest, and when if we had not met with great
disasters our army was at least placed in a perilous and
critical position—when the minds of the people of this
country were occupied by little else than the consideration
of the condition of that army—and when they were neces-
sarily asking themselves the question, " What is the cause
of the evils which have befallen it ?"—the house would
not, he was quite certain, grudge any time that might be
occupied in the discussion of any question which might
be supposed to bear upon the efficiency of the army. (Hear.)
The people of this country were of opinion that there was
but one principle by the application of which we might
hope to obtain a safe deliverance from our difficulties and
dangers—and the loud and deep and earnest demand
of the people was that the house and the Gov‘irnment,
whatever the Government might be, should act upon
this one principle in their selection of persons to fill
any office, be it civil or be it military—namely, that
of placing in every pest of trust and command that
man only who is most fitting to fill it—(hear) —looking
simply to his qualifications fur discharging well and wor-
thily the duties of that office, without considering the
question of Lis position in office, his connection with party,
or any personal feeling whatever. (near, hear.) It would
hardly be urged that that principle had been adopted in
our present system of military promotion. It was not
necessary that he should go into any lung description of
what that system was. The theory was that the right of
promotion rested solely with the Crown, and was exercised
by the commander-in-chief. But by the purchase system
which had grown up in our army, though it had never
been established by any law, and which was a system of
bargain and sale between individual officers - (no, no,
hear, hear)—permitted and regalated by the Queen's re-
gulations and the orders of the Horse Guards, the selection
of the commander-in-chief was limited to persons whose
names were on the purchase-list of the regiment. Although
the Horse Guards attempted to regulate the sums paid for ,
commissions, it was notorious to every one that much ,
larger sums were paid than was allowed by the Queen's
regulations. When a vacancy was caused by the death,
dismissal, or promotion of an officer, it was filled up by the
Horse Guards without purchase, and this he took it was
the safety-valve of the system, but for which poor merit
would have no chance of advancement in the army. At
the same time it involved the great anomaly and injustice
that the family of an officer who died received no benefit
from the sums he had invested in the purchase of commis-
sions. Another way by which persons not possessing for-
tunes sufficient to enable them to purchase commissions
might obtain them was, as rewards for proficiency at
Sandhurst ; but he believed be was right in saying
that that military college had but a small influence on
the character of the officers in the army. The number
of persons who, having studied there, received commis-
sions was not large, and the college was altogether ina-
dequate to the wants of such an army as ours. (Hoar.)
The officers of our army were, generally speaking, drawn
from, he would not say the aristocratic or the noble, but
the wealthy classes. The soldiers were drawn from very
different classes, and between the two there was a gulf to
pass, which, though it was occasionally passed, could
hardly be a reasonable object of ambition to the private
soldier when he entered the army. The hon. member for
Richmond, and the hon. and gallant member for Abing-
don, having respectively given notices of motion upon the
subjects of Sandhurst College and the sale and purchase
of commissions, he should chiefly confine his attention to
the manner in which the purchase system affected the non-
commissioned officers and private soldiers. The present
time afforded an opportunity of dealing with this part of
the subject which in time of peace did not exist. By the
increase of promotion from the ranks you would pave the
way for an alteration in the whole system, you would in-
fuse a new spirit into the ranks of the officers, and would
thus obtain time to deal with what he fully admitted to
be a most complicated and difficult question—the aboli-
tion of purchase. There were involved in that system the
rights of individuals, and any attempt to abolish it with-
out compensation would be simple confiscation, which he
should be the last man to advocate or not to oppose • but
, he believed that that system was inconsistent with the ad-
vancement of merit, and with the sound principles which
ought to guide a country like this, and which were there-
fore deserving of the attention of the Government and of
the House of Commons. He need hardly enlarge upon
that part of his resolution by which he asked the house to
declare that privates or non-commissioned officers rarely
attained to the rank of field officers or to the command
of regiments, because he believed it was notoriously true
that the majority, almost the universality of the superior
officers of the army were persons who had never been in
the ranks. Instances of such men as Sir John Elley
might be quoted in opposition to this ; but he would ask
those adducing such instances to be sure that they made
against his argument. Some years ago, it was stated
that Colonel Cureton, whose distinguished gallantry
in one of our great Indian campaigns then attracted
much attention, had risen from the ranks ; but, soon
afterwards, he (Lord Goderich) found, from a me-
moir of the gallant colonel, which was published, that he
was tho son of a man whose rank, though he was poor,
would have entitled him to a commission, that Mr. Care-
, ton enlisted against the will of his father at the time of the
' Peninsular war, and that it was owing to these circum-
stances, snore oven than to his great and indisputable
merits, that the Duke of Wellington made him a sergeant,
and afterwards obtained for him a commission. Such a
case as this seemed to him (Lord Goderich) to be no objec-
tion to the position which he was laying down. The pro-
motion of non-commissioned officers to the rank of subal-
terns was much more frequent than their promotion to be
field-officers or to command regiments; and the posts of
quartermasters and paymasters were held almost exclu-
sively by men who had risen from the racks, because those
officers had to discharge unpleasant and clerkly duties
which other gentlemen were not willing to discharge. He
would state to the house the facts of the promotions which
had taken place of late, when, owing to our being at war,
and to the number of death vacancies at the dis; osal of
the Horse Guards, the value of a commission was next to
nothing. Ho could only ascertain the original circum-
stances of persons promoted to the ranks of ensigns and
cornets. Taking that list, there had bean since the Ist of
October—that was since the promoti-ms for this war
began-521 ensigns' and cornets' commissions tilled up at
the Horse Guards. Of these 150 had been filled up by
purchase. Of the 371 which had been given without
purchase 266 had been given to persons described by
the somewhat equivocal title of " outs," 39 to militia
officers, and 06 to sergeants. Among this 60 were in-
cluded 40 sergeants promoted under the system introduced
by the right hon. gentleman the member for South Wilt-
shire (Mr. Herbert), and consequently he should almost
be justified iu supposing that but for that change of system
- on 26 sergeants would have received commissions. If this
was the practice followed in time of war, when the social
difficulties which were urged against the change would
toll much less than in time of peace, because one campaign
would produce in men fighting side by side more
friendly feeling than one ten years' association in
time of peace, he thought he had established his
case, that it was not tho practice of the Horse Guards to
hold out to soldiers any certain hopes that—except far
' deeds of extraordinary value, which had always been re-
warded, as they deserved, with commissions—their merit
THE POST-OFFICE. would be honoured by promotion to the rank of commis-
Mr. T. DUNCOMBE wished to ask the Secretary of cloned officers. If that was the principle, he would ask
the Treasury, what, if any, new arrangements had been the house to consider whether it was advantageous. You
submitted for the approval of the Lords of the Treasury, asked of the soldierthe possession not only of physical cour-
for the classification of the letter-carriers of the metro- age, but also of devotion, of self-sacrifice, of endurance,
polio, with a view of improving their salaries and super- of privation, of patriotism, and of loyalty—all qualities
annuations, and if sanctioned, from what date ; also, if which contained at least the germs of military genius, and
it was intended to make any provision for granting to the which formed the foundation of the character
you required
letter-carriers, without deduction from their pagy, some in those filling the highest posts in your army; and yet you
held out no hope that if he displayed military genius, ceur-
relaxation in the form of holidays, age, and ability, he would meet with the reward of mill-
the report upon the Post-office ? as recommended in
tary command. Let them consider the case of France, and
Mr. WILSON said as early as August last the Trea- say whether the wars of Napoleon, and the army which he
sury authorised the Post-office to make the whole of the commanded, did not prove that in every rank of society
alterations recommended by the report. In consequence might be fouud men fit for military command. The mar-
of that authority there had been an amalgamation of shal whom the French army called "Le brave des braves"
the two classes of letter-carriers, namely, the district and was the son of a cooper at Senlis. Massena was the sou of
the general, who would in future be divided into four a simple citizen at Nice. He enlisted in the French army
classes, with correspondinay. These would be before the revolution as a private soldier, but having no
brought !under the S g p
uperannuation Act without being hope of promotion left it. After the system was changed
he re-entered it, and rose to be a marshal of France, and
called upon to make any payment to the fund. With
to be called by Napoleon "the child of victory."
regard to the last question, each letter-carrier would be He might
be told that this was applicable to France, but not to Bug-
allowed a fortnight's holiday every year.
land. (Hear, hear.) Did the hon. gentleman who cheere
PATRIOTIC FUND. mean to say that our soldiers were less fit to command than
Sir J. PAKINGTON asked the First Lord of the were those of France? Did the hon. gentleman mean that
Treasury whether he had any objection to lay upon the the English soldier wanted the qualities which entitled
table of the house copies of any despatches which had him to the confidence of his country ? To refute any such
been sent in acknowledgment of the loyal addresses, allegation, he (Lord Goderich) would appeal to the letters
votes of money to the Patriotic Fund, and other modes which had been written by soldiers engaged in the present
in which the colonies and dependencies of the British campaign ; he would appeal to the hon. member for
Northamptonshire (Mr. Stafford), who had deserved
Crown had assured her Majesty of their sympathy and the thanks and respect of all by devoting himself to
zealous co-operation in the war in which this country was the alleviation of the suffering of our wounded
now engaged. soldiers. Ho would ask him whether he had
Sir G. GREY said there would not be the slightest learned at their death-beds lessons of resignation, of
objection to produce them. He would take that oppor- loyalty, and gentleness which he might never have learned
tunity of stating that addresses had been received from in the best circles of London society ? (Hear.) For many
Newfoundland and New Brunswick, one enclosing years the attention of successive Governments and of suc-
-1,6001., and the other 4,0001. (Cheers.) .. cessive Secretaries at War had been devoted to improving
THE BALLOT. the condition and the education of soldiers. Did not this
Mr. H. BERKELEY wished to ask the First Lord improvement of their education give them a greater claim
of the Treasury the following question :—The briber to promotion ? He should hardly be told that our soldiers
and corruption which prevailed at the last general elec-
y were wanting in courage. If he were, he would appeal to
the hon. and gallant gentleman near him (Sir De Lacy
tion having given rise to an act against bribery and un- Evans) who was present at the " soldiers' battle," and
due influence, expiring at the end of the next session, could tell of their deeds on that occasion, and who could
whether the Government contemplate a renewal of that tell of the deeds of Sergeant Sullivan whom he mentioned
act ; and also, whether it be the intention of the noble in his despatch, but whose name was, in obedience to pue-
lord to permit the question of the ballot to be an open rile and cruel etiquette—(cheers)—struck out of the de-
question to the members of his Government ? - pa cst h of the Commander-in-Chief, and over whom twelve
Lord PALMERSTON said it was probable that a appointed to ensigncies in his own
continuation bill would be brought in. With regard to nt If it were admitted that it would be just to
gentleman had since been . .
changeregime our' system, ho would ask the house to consider
the last question, he could assure the hon. member that whether it would be expedient. He only asked that they
no change was intended to take place in the arrange- should do upon system something more than had been done
merit on that subject. (A laugh.)
by the right hon, gentleman the member for Wiltshire
NEWSPAPER STAMP. (Mr. S. Herbert), but which that right hon. gentleman had
•
Mr. COWAN wished to know from the Secretary to established on no firm or permanent basis. At the meet-
the Treasury if it was intended to proceed with the bill ing of Parliament before Christmas that right hon. gentle-
for the repeal of the newspaper stamp to-morrow even- man, in supporting the Foreign Enlistment Bill, corn-
ing ? plained of the difficulty of obtaining recruits such as were
Mr. 'WILSON said the Army and Ordnance Esti-required for the arduous service in the Crimea. This
mates stood for to morrow night, and he was afraid they difficulty would not have been so great had it been possible
for the recruiting sergeant to have said to every man who
would take up the whole of the sitting. However, if
aaything should happen to prevent those estimates oc- would enlist, that if he possessed knowledge, intelligence,
and genius for command, he might rise to any position
e
copying the whole evening, the bill should be brought to which his talents entitled hint. (Hear,
on. It was of great importance that no time should system were changed you might obtainntreerec(riutihe from
be lost in passing the bill, in order that the law might classes the members of which now never e hear.)
tslf_rnhm
army
ebccefiovieed.
take effect at the next quarter day.
THE VERNON GALLERY. at all. Since the Ist of October 4
commissions who had never been .
description of which
Lord EBRINGTON asked the First Minister if itl6inmtelliel ha':itni
thrierbert) complained as
the right hon. gentleman ~ •
T hey were all mere youthsoolfr
was the intention of the the Crown to purchase the
Vet non collection ?t for, be • a .
stain of affairs it was no wie man
inadequate to the work. of
.the, campaign. Of course in
the present
Lord PALMERSTON replied that, in the present
state of the national finances, lie could not undertake it was true, all that youthful courage, generosity,.l and dove-
was sent on active service, and he then went outwi.:ll,
to recommend Parliament to vote money for the fur - tion for which English gentlemen hadi ways been dietin-
enowledge except such
chase of the collection.
gained by his examination. He went out at au
PROMOTION IN THE ARMY. as he had
guished, but without any military
which in other pursuits he weol,l not be thought fit to
Mr. LAYARD presented a petition from Aylesbury in
agbeeplaced in responsible situations or to have the command
favour of the motion of Lord Goderich. of men. Soon after he went out lie might have to command
Mr. ROEBUCK presented a similar petition from a picket, where up.on. his skill, vigilance, and knowledge
might depend, as before now had depended, the safety of
Sheffield. the army. Before he went on duty his cowman .ing officer
Viscount GODERICH then rose to snore that an hum the
probably send for him and say, "You eo on picket
ble address be presented to her Majesty, praying that she to-night. Perhaps you may not well know the nature of
svill be graciously pleased to take into her consideration the duty, but Sergeant So-and-So is a very stealy, experi-
the present system of promotion in her Majesty's army, enced scan ;ho will go with you and will tell you what to
under which non-commissioned officers rarely attain to the do." Surely it was an inversion of common sense to place
a man in command of any part of a regiment who was
rank of commissioned officer, and scarcely over to that of
obliged to take his instructions from a non-commissioned
field officer, and humbly to recommend to her Majesty officer. (Hear.) A story, which he knew to be true, had
that it is the opinion of this house that the said system is
been told to him of a young and. gallant officer who first
injurious to the public service, and unjust to the private saw a battle on the heights of the Alma, and who, in
•

writing to his mother afterwards, said, when the balls
began to fall thick around him and men were dropping on
every side of him, he felt for a few moments a thrill of
terror, and was hesitating whether he should flee. At that
moment a great tall sergeant behind him took him by the
back of the neck and pushed him into the thick of the
battle. (A laugh.) Hon. gentlemen might laugh, but the
story was true. The young officer went on to say that
from that moment he never ftgt fear, and he must have
been a gallant man to have told the story himself. (Hear.)
It was by that sergeant that he was made a soldier. (Hear.)
A gallant friend of his (Lord Goderich) now.in command
of one of her Majesty's regiments, and a most distinguished
officer, told him—speaking on the subject of his (Lord
Goderich's) present motion—that the present system affected
the efficiency of the army not only in time of war,
but in time of peace. (Hear, hear.) He said a short
time after he Joined his regiment the command of
his company devolved upon him. The commanding officer
sent for him, and said, " You do not, of course, know your
duties as commander of a company, but Sergeant-Major So
and-So is an experienced man, and he will explain to you
what you should do." (Hear.) His (Lord Goderich's)
friend followed that advice, and the result was that he ra•
pidly rose to the rank of a colonel—(an ironical laugh)—
and had the pleasure afterwards of recommending the ser-
neant.major to an ensigncy. But he (Lord Goderich) con•
tended that it was an inversion of common sense to have
promoted the officer before the sergeant-major. He did
not for a moment propose that the commissions in the
army should be held exclusively, or even mainly, by men
rising from the rank of private soldiers. All he said was
that the present proportions should be changed. He had
been asked why he did not frame his motion for a com-
mittee. He had not done se first, because the ground was
occupied, and secondly, because the change h was now
urging was one which could be made now, and for making
which the present time was peculiarly favourable, which
might not be the case if they waited to have the report of
a committee. (Hear.) We were now fighting side by side
with a gallant ally, in whose army a different system
existed, and which army, if report spoke true, bore a strik-
ing contrast to our own. He thought there was testimony
enough to show that the French army was altogether in a
better condition than our own, and that we ought to allow no
false pride to prevent, us examining into their system, and
considering whether We could not assimilate our own to it.
With respect to the recent promotion of one meritorious
sergeant in each regiment, if that system had been a sound
one, they would not hare had his noble friend (Lord Pal-
merston) telling the hon. gentleman opposite (Mr. French)
the other night, that Sergeant Sullivan could not be pro-
moted, because it was impossible to promote more than one
sergeant in a regiment. (Hear.) He had been told out of
doors, and he might be told in that house, that •the nten
themselves'did not like to be-promoted, because when so
promoted they found their position uncomfortable. No
doubt that would be so if they only promoted one sergeant
in every regiment. That was the very reason why he asked
the house to change the system. If they had a body of men
promoted from the ranks, and thoroughly well-knit toge-
ther, he had no doubt they would live and act together in
a satisfactory manner; but if there were only compara-
tively a few of them promoted from time to time, and if
they were regarded as black swans, as they were occasion-
ally, though he knew well that a gentleman would never
so look upon them, the men so promoted world be liable
to feel themselves in a peculiar and anomalous position.
And surely he was justified in saying the gentlemen of
England would never refuse to serve their country because
they shared the honours and privations of the military pro-
fession with men who had risen from the ranks. (Hear,
hear.) He knew the officers in the British army were
brave, devoted, and loyal, and he was not asking that the
house should do them an injury, but that it should give
" a fair field and no favour" to another class of men: He
hoped, if he should be followed in the debate by the noble
lord at the head of the Government, that noble lord would
not accuse him, as he had accused his hon. friend the mem-
ber for Aylesbury (Mr. Layard), of having indulged
iu "vulgar declamation against the aristocracy." He (Lord
Goderich) had done no such thing—he was only asking to
have equal justice meted out to all classes of men in the
army. Tacitus told us of the ancient Germans—" Reges
ex nobilitate, et duces et virtute sumunt." He (Lord
Goderich) would that we should henceforth choose our
military commanders by the example of our German fore-
fathers—namely, for their merit and their merit alone, by'
which we should promote the efficiency of the army, and
do justice to the claims of those brave men to whom, by
common consent, much more than to their commanders,
did we owe the victories of the last campaign. We should
then reward the heroes of the Alma, Balaklava, and In-
kerman—then, as in the days of the first Napoleon, every
helmet would catch and reflect some beam of glory from
victory; and we should build a sound and satisfactory,
military organisation, because we should lay its founda-
tiois on the principles of reason and justice.
Mr. F. PEEL said the system of which the noble lord
complained might be faulty in principle and defective in
theory ; bat it could not be said with truth that in its ac-
tual working it had operated injuriously to the interests
of this country or to the honour and credit of the Eng-
lish army. If he had all the armies of Europe brought to-
gether before him, and if he wanted to inquire to which
among those armies he should refer if he desired to find
officers distinguished for their high sense of personal
honour, eminent for their courage and for their, unshrink-
ing bravery, and possessing also, in a superior degree, the
habits and feelings of gentlemen, the army to which he
should be referred would be the English army and its
officers. (Hear, hear.) The question which theymust con-
sider was, whether those were the qualifications which were
indispensable to English officers ? He did not for a moment
wish to underrate men taken from the ranks, familiar as
they wore with all the duties of a soldier, and with the
feelings of the class from which they sprang ; but when he
considered the nature of our military system, and the im-
portant functions the officers of the English army had to
fulfil, especially in the colonies, where they had often to
assist in the administration of even civil affairs, he did not
think there were any qualities more indispensable to an
English officer than those to which he had alluded. (Hear.)
The noble lord's view was that the system to which hehad
referred was a system which, in the terms of his motion,
acted injuriously and unjustly to the private soldiers in the
army. (Hear, hoar.) But much of what the noble lord had
said rested upon theory, to use his own expression; and he
thought the noble lord had failed to point out in what way
the present system did act injuriously ou the private soldier
or impeded the disposition to enlist into the service. The
noble lord admitted that much had been done to facilitate
the infusion of non-commissioned officers and privates
among the officers of the army, and what he (the noble lord)
wanted was that the authorities at the Horse Guards should
systematise what theyhad been doing in that way; but the
noble lord had not favoured the house with any definite
plan of his own for doing that. His (Mr. Peel's)opinion was
that if they wanted to make the promotion of non-commis-
sioned officers a system, the system that now prevailed
must give way. (Hear, and a laugh.) The question which
the noble lord had raised affected the whole system
of promotion in the army by purchase. He (Mr. Peel)
had no prejudice against the advancement of the private
soldier. If he found a man in the ranks who had distin-
guished himself in any way, or shown an aptitude for
command, he would say by all means let him not be lost
sight of ; but he thought the noble lord brought a some-
what unjust accusation against the Government, when he
said they had not acted with sufficient liberality in the
promotion of non-commissioned officers. He would remind
the noble lord that the Government had no power to act
in this matter without the authority of the house. It
would be unjust to suppose that at the present time no
non-commissioned officers were advanced to the rank of
commissioned officers. There were commissions which fell
vacant by deaths, and the practice was in filling up those
commissions to bestow them gratuitously on meritoriousi
persons, upon the responsibility of the Commander-in-
Chief, making at the same time some provision for the
widows and families of the officers so dying, and who had
held previously those commissions. Those leath commis-
sions were given in the first place to bring young cadets
who had passed an examination at the college of Sandhurst
and had proved their capacity for the military profession.
They were given, in the next place, to the sons of aged and
meritorious officers ; and, again, to non-commissioned offi-
cers who had distinguished themselves and been reported
as deserving of promotion, and who, let him add—for that
was important—were themselves willing to accept a com-
mission—(hear )—for it was not every non-commissioned
officer who would accept one. He found that the number
of non-commissioned officers in the last five years who had
been promoted in that way was 129, and that the number
who had been promoted iu regiments serving in the Crimea
was not 66, as had been represented by the noble lord, but
90, so that 219 non-commissioned officers had been pro-
moted to commissions in the army within that period. He
thought that was an indication of the meaner in which the
Government was disposed to deal with this question.
Besides, owing to the necessity for increasing the strength
of the armies in the Crimea the commissions had to be
increased in proportion, and. 100 ensigncies had been dis-
posed ef, which realised, from 40,0001. to 50,0001., which
would form a fund when the war was over, and
when the half-pay would come to be considered. Now
there were three modes by which vacancies beyond the
first step could be filled up ; namely, by seniority—by merit
—or by purchase. With respect to the system of pus chase,
he instanced the case of a major's vabancy occurring in a
regiment. It would be offered for purchase to the senior
captain—a man well acquainted with his profession and
fully competent to the discharge of the duties; but he was
a man of no means, and was obliged therefore to decline
the seniority. The captain next to him had, perhaps, the
means, and would obtain the majority, and in that case he
thought a hardship weuld be inflicted upon the senior cap-
tain, and. he should most certainly be glad if any means
could be adopted for remedying such hardship. But the
house should remember on the other hand that it was not
desirable to have very old officers, and especially field
officers, in the army, and yet the results of abolishing the
purchase system and adopting that of seniority would be
greatly to extend the average age of officers of the army.
The hope of advancement, too, was almost entirely incon-
sistent with the system of promotion by seniority. The
lowest, for instance, in a list of 16 captains might be de-
sirous of obtaining a higher position, and be ambitious of
using his talents for the interest of his country in a wider
sphete of action, but while it was necessary for him to
advance by degrees through the whole of his senior cap-
tains to arrive at his majority, his prospects of attaining
the object of his ambition would be very limited indeed.
He believed, therefore, that the prospect of rapid promo-
tion by purchase had the effect of bringing into tne army
a very large amount of the public spirit and enterprise of
the country. But it appeared to be overlooked. to a great
extent that there were conditions attached to the purchase
which required to be satisfied before the commission could
be obtained, every officer having to pass an examination,
and being called upon to prove his qualification for the
higher post which he sought to obtain. (Hear, hear.)
Another beneficial effect of the purchase system was that
it got rid, to a great extent, of the aged officers. Con-
stant complaints wore made of appointing old men to com-
mands in the army ; but the way in which the army had
come to b 3 officered by comparatively young men was
mainly to be attributed to this very system of promotion
by purchase. Where would be the inducement for an old
officer to retire, if he were not allowed to sell his commis-
sion upon leaving the service? (Hear.) It would, in fact,
be indispensably necessary to resort to some violent means
of removing the aged—(a laugh)—and that would be a
course of conduct extremely painful and hurtful to the
feelings of all parties. If the present system of promotioa
by purchase were abolished, it would cause a complete
stagnation in the current of promotion. He found that
the number of officers who had retired by purchase, during
the List five years, had bean 30 lieutenant-colonels, 2'J
majors, 03 captains, 115 lieutenants, and 44 ensigns; and
the total value of their commissions was not less than
500,0001. (Hear, hear.) With respect to the third mode'
of pi omotion—by merit as it is called the case of Sergeant
Sullivan offered no great encouragement to any Govern-
ment to enter upon such a system. Who was to be the
judge of the relative merits of the different candidates for
promotion ? In this particular case the Horse Guards in-
structed Lordßaglan that he might promote one sergeant-
major of each regiment. The Government knew nothing
of the grounds upon which each person was selected, and
ever since it had been knee fiat [Sergeant Sullivan had
not been selected, the had been attacked by
one hon. member eking why he had not