The Sun.
London, England, 1855-03-27 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING-, MARCH 27, 185

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

Communication, Plymouth Great Western Docks, West
Landon and Crystal Palace and Westminster Terminus
Railways.

lord had told the house that we went to war with a
peace establishment, but whose fault was that ? (Hear.)
Why, the Government of the day. The war did not
come upon us suddenly—it had long been anticipated ;
and in spite of negotiation the preparations should have
been going on for open hostilities. A long time ago
the Government of this country became aware
of the private intention of the Emperor of Russia with
regard to Turkey, and they ought to have taken the ad-
vice of the Opposition, and called out the Irish and
Scotch militia at least a year before the war commenced.
After war was declared the noble lord lost no means for
the development of our defences, by organising the
militia, and it was not until midsummer that the noble
lord had recourse to these measures which, if he had ap-
pealed to them before, might have been at once forth-
coming. This showed a want of confidence in the spirit
and resources of the country. (Hear, bear.) He
should not at present oppose the measure of the noble
lord, but he would not allow it to pass in silence ; he
could not pass it by without remark, that in the first
year of a war we were obliged to have recourse to foreign
subsidy, simply because we had neglected the national
means at our disposal. He hoped the house also would
not allow it to pass in silence, and that the house would
proclaim that if war was to be carried on, it ought to be
with our legitimate national resources. The hon. gen-
tleman resumed his seat amidst cheers.
Lord PALMERSTON said as the hon. gentleman
who had just sat down bad expressed his intention not
to oppose the measure very little would he necessary for
him to say. But lie could not allow the hon. gentleman's
remarks to pass unnoticed inasmuch as they dis-
played so little confidence in the discretion of the
Government in voting so comparatively small
an amount of money in order to strengthen our military
resources. (Hear, hear.) The hon. gentleman told
them that when we were now engaged in war we ought
to abstain from making preparations for war whilst
peace negotiations were pending, on the principle that
we had not done so before when we were in the height
of the struggle. (Hear, hear.) With reference to the
Calling out of the militia, he hoped the right honourable
gentleman and the party to which he belonged would
make their own defence on that point. He acknow-
ledged fully the merit of the Government to which the
hon, gentleman belonged in re-organising the mi-
litia ; but could it have been embodied in a
time of peace, when such a threatening operation would
have appeared very ominous, and was, moreover,
unnecessary ? (Hear, hear.) On the other hand, there
was no power to embody the militia without a fresh
legislative act ; but when war did at length manifest it-
self—when the Black Sea was blockaded, and a naval
force had been despatched to the Baltic—then was the
time for the embodiment of the militia ; and the Govern-
ment accordingly obtained a fresh act for its embodi-
ment. (Hear.) Therefore, he conceived the want of
foresight was ascribable to the Government to which the
hon. gentleman belonged rather than to the Administra-
tion with which he (Lord Palmerston) was connected. (No,
no, and counter cheers.) At the same time, could it be for
one moment said that the militia could have proved a
proper and effective force for the purpose for which the
Sardinian loan bad been proposed. They never could
have been regarded as a substitute, although every cre-
dit was ascribable to them for their gallantry and self-
devotion in volunteering their services for duty abroad,
and for enlistment into the regular troops. (Cheers.)
Therefore he thought the charge brought forward by the
hon. gentleman of want of foresight and negligence of
duty must inevitably fall to the ground. (Applause.)
Mr. E. DENISON regretted that if no opposition
was intended to be given to the vote of this loan it
should be given in any way grudgingly. (Hear.) In
Sardinia, although a Roman Catholic country, they had
found out the value of religious liberty, and had respected
it ; and he congratulated the Minister at the head of
affairs in that country for having conducted the nego-
tions with this country so successfully, and he
trusted the union which would be cemented between
the two countries by those negotiations might long con-
tinue, as a source of pride to this country and admira-
tion to the world. (Hear.)
Mr. BRIGHT, in the course of a luminous address,
said be did not regret that the loan was voted to Sar-
dinia, though he should much rather the security had
been anything else than 15,0e0 men. He did not think
the progress of civil and religious liberty in that country,
of which the house had heard so much of late, would
be materially benefitted by Sardinia embarking in a war
in which she could have no possible interest. (Hear,
hear.) He should not, as the hon. gentleman (Mr.
Disraeli) had just said, oppose the resolution before the
committee, but he could not allow the opportunity to
pass without expressing his dissent to any measure
which bad for its object dragging Sardinia int* a strug-
gle from which greater countries than she might reason-
ably have shrunk, when she might have been much more
advantageously employed in proceeding quietly, as she
had done hitherto, in the beneficial arrangement of her
internal affairs. (" Oh, oh," and bear.)
Mr. BOWYER bore testimony from observation of
the courage and fidelity of the Sardinian army ; but he
regretted that the Government should have been so hasty
in concluding a treaty without first ascertaining what
were the resources of that country as to repayment and
security for the money. He contended that Sardinia
was not in a position to afford reliable security. He
could not bring forward actual statistical tables
to prove the correctness of this assertion, but
he maintained that the reasonable inference for
what bad transpired between the two countries was
ns he bad stated. (Hear.) He could, however,
inform the house t'Rat there was an annual deficit of
revenue in Sardinia, and the taxes—especially the income
tax—were heavy. Commerce had been stimulated to
the utmost, speculation was rife, and he feared was
any economy being exercised the expenditure was most
profligate ; and then there was a disproportionate stand-
ing army. His hon. friend had believed he (Mr, Bright)
had alluded to the absurdity of engaging in war, especi-
ally under present circumstances. (Hear, hear.) Now
so far was that true, that the Genoese
merchants found themselves materially injured by the
present war, because their trade lay chiefly in Russian
ports ; and he mentioned this fact to show the want of
caution in the Government in not placing beyond all
doubt the question of security before inducing Sardinia to
join in the war. He asked were the financial affairs of that
country managed in so unexceptionable a manner as to
afford the Government reasonable satisfaction that
the security offered was firm and reliable ? He
should not have mentioned these circumstances
at another period, as we had nothinz at all to
do with the internal affairs of other countries ; but when
the grant of a loan from this country to another came
before the house, it behoved thorn, he thought, to con-
sider well the security which they should have for their
money. (Hear, hear.)

HOUSE OF LORDS—(YESTERDAY.)
The LORD CIANCELLOR took hie seat On the wool-
sack at five o'clock.

PETITIONS.

Mr. DUNCAN presented a petition from Dundee
against the Scotch Education Bill.
Mr. BROTHERTON presented a petition from Stock-
port, praying for the repeal of Church rates.
Mr. WILCOX presented a petition from Southamp-
ton praying for the repeal of the newspaper stamp.
Mr. HOR,SFALL presented a petition from Liver-
pool in favour of Mr. Gladstone's, and against the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer's, Newspaper Stamp Bill.
Mr. KIRK presented a petition from Belfast against
the sale of intoxicating drinks on Sundays.
Mr. FERGUSON presented similar petitions from
Carlisle.

PETITIONS.

Earl GREY presented a petition from Somerset,
praying the house to adopt prompt measures for the
speedy restoration of peace.
Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition from

Kingston-upon-Thames in favour of the abolition of
church rates. The noble and learned lord took the
opportunity of laying on the table two more resolutions
he intended to move in connection with the treatment
of criminals.

The Earl of SHAFTESBURY presented a petition
from the Wesleyan body of dissenters in favour of closing
the public-houses on the Lord's-day.
THE QUEEN'S MESSAGE—TREATY WITH

Mr. MOWBRAY presented a petition from Durham
against the Chancellor of the Exchequer's and in favour
of Mr. Gladstone's Newspaper Stamp Bill.
Mr. DISRAELI presented a petition from Finsbury
praying for the repeal of the newspaper stamp.
Mr. AI`MAIIION presented a petition from upwards
of 1,500 inhabitants of two parishes in the county of
Galway, complaining of certain wholesale and
indis-
criminate evictions there ; also, a petition from Irish
fishermen, complaining of distress, and praying for an
amendment of the Irish Fisheries Act.

Mr. R. LO WE presented a petition from 5,000 inha-
bitants of Sydney, South Australia, praying the house to
reject the Constitution sent over for its adoption, and in
favour of a Legislature consisting .of two elective chain-
bs.rs.

Mr. H. BERKLEY presented a petition from 6,000
of the inhabitants of Bristol against church rates.

NEW WRIT,

On the motion of Mr. HAYTER, a new writ was
ordered for the city of Gloucester, in the room of Mr.
Price, who had accepted the Chiltern Hundreds.
Mr. BRIGHT presented a petition from an individual
whose publication had been suppressed by the Inland
Revenue, praying fur the repeal of the newspaper
stamp.

Mr. GLADSTONE 'was anxious that the question
before the house should be placed on a proper footing,
and trusted that no comment in another form would
place it in an unjust light. (Hear, hear.) Sardinia had
peculiar claims upon our sympathy and respect.
In times far more favourable to the freedom of consti-
tutional Government, at times when other coun-
tries had as it were freedom within their grasp
and lost it again—when retrogression marked other
nations, Sardinia, a country amongst difficulties
almost insuperable, succeeded in establishing the bless-
ings of a free Government. He thought his hon-
ourable friend the member for Malton was quite jus-
tified in commenting upon the happy union between
that country and our own, while he thought the case
attempted to be set up by the hon. gentleman who had
just sat down against the financial character of Sardi
ala had not been by any means clearly established. He
admitted that all questions of this nature ought to be
regarded with jealousy by this house; but he held that
the present was a loan and not a subsidy. In answer
to Mr. Bowyer's calculations, .he would only ask in
what instance that country bad ever failed in fulfilling
its obligations ?

Mr. ADDERLEY objected to the resolution, and
could regard this money in no other light than as a loan.
It would be much better to draw auxiliaries from our
Canadian and other colonists than any foreign country
whatever.

Mr. KINNAIRD complained that hon. gentlemen
opposite were now pursuing the very course of dispa-
raging foreign aid which had already ruined the forma-
tionof the foreign legion.

Mr. DISRAELI denied that the neglect in embodying
the militia was owing to the Government of which he
was a member, and reiterated his former arguments,
that it was owing to.the mismanagement of the Govern-
ment, the disregard of the militia, and the neglect of the
regular army, that these foreign troops were now wanted.
After some further personal explanations from Lord
PALMERSTON and Mr. BowYER respecting the militia,
Mr. J. BALL controverted the statements of Mr.
Bowyer respecting the finances of Sardinia, and stated,
from his own knowledge of the country, that though
there were at present some financial difficulties they
were of a purely temporary character, and were rapidly
disappearing.
Mr. COBDEN would yield to no one in admiration
of the constitutional government of Sardinia, whose
progress in civil and religious liberty he had long watched
with intense interest, but he confessed he felt that her
present step was not a wise one. He could not under-
stand why Sardinia, which was always regarded as an
equipoise to Austrian power in Italy, should be dragged
into the war before Austria fired a shot. But mere than
all, he could not understand why this convention should
have been entered into at a moment when the prelimi-
nary negotiations had made sueh progress that within a
week we might have a certainty of peace. He wished to
know whether the noble lord had taken the precaution
of withholding the money if the expenditure was rendered
unnecessary by the establishment of peace ?
Mr. M. MILNES repeated substantially the same
question,

Lord PALMERSTON said this treaty was made with
Sardinia on the supposition that the Sardinian contin-
gent would have to go to the seat of war to carry on
operations in conjunction with the British army during
the var. This million of money was, by the terms of
the convention, to be advanced in two halves—one as
soon as possible after the assent of Parliament had been
given, and the other at the end of six months. Of course
the Sardinian Government wanted money to meet the
greater expense incurred by an army in the field as com-
pared with that incurred by one stationed at home. Some
of this expense must have been incurred in preparing
the contingent for the field. If peace should be made
before the army had embarked, only a certain por-
tion of the expense would have been incurred ; should
it reach the seat of war, a still larger portion of that
expense must be met ; and so on in proportion to
the time for which it serves. The only answer I can
give is, therefore, that, if peace should be made
earlier than the treaty contemplates there will naturally
be a fresh arrangement between the two Governments,
dependent on the particular moment at which peace shall
be made. I cannot imagine that the Sardinian Govern-
racat would wish to throw on us a greater burden than