The Sun.
London, England, 1855-02-20 00:00:00

possessed many sterling qualities for the profession of
arms; and until means be aiTor4led for each men rising in
their profession the army would never be what it ought
to be.

Mr. I'tfURROUGH thought the country was now some-
what in the state of Sinbad—it was overridden by old
men ; and a few days ago it was in this dilemma, that
there wero only two or three men in it who were thought
capable of forming a Ministry, as if a monopoly of the
talent of the country belonged to three noble lords.
He was satisfied that a strong Government would have
been formed if many prejudices had been laid aside.
The noble lord (Viscount Palmerston) was a few days ago,
what he was not now, master of the situation, and he
might have, from below the gangway of either side of the
home, selected men who were capable of forming a strong
Government. (An ironical laugh.) There might not have
been a Russell, an Elliott, or a Cavendish among them ;
but there would have been men of greater weight, and
equal, if not greater, ability—he meant those who repre-
sented large constituencies, and who came to that house
with the weight of the people's authority upon them.

ARMY ESTIMATES
The house thou wont into committee for the purpose of
voting the army estimates, and
Mr. F. PEEL, after claiming the indulgence of the
committee, on the ground of the very short period which
had elapsed since ho had held office connected with the
War Department, proceeded to lay before the house the
details of the estimates for the army during the ensuing
veer, and in doing so said—The estimates for the army
have beea swollen to dimensions unusually large, but not,
I believe, larger than are commensurate with the magni-
tude of the operations in which the country is engaged. I
regret deeply the absence, from indisposition, of my right
hon. friend the present Secretary of State for the Colonies,
under whose superintendence the present estimates have
been framed, and which differ in severalrespects from those
which have been submitted to the house for the current year.
The present differ from the previous estimates on account
of the greater number of the men, in the large augmenta-
tions in many of those services which are inseparable from
the administration of the army, and also in the creation of
a new department, which has not previously boon included
in the estimates nor submitted to the consideration of the
house, viz., the land transport service. Setting aside the
number of regiments of infantry and cavalry of the line em-
ployed in India, and paid by the Government ofthat coun-
try, nor reckoning the estimated force of the foreign corps
to be raised under the Foreign Enlistment Act, and exclud-
ing also the militia already embodied, the number of men
which we propose to be voted for the service of the ensuing
year is 178,615. When my right hon. friend the late Secre-
tary at War introduced the original estimates of last year,
he stated that he was desirous that the house should first
have the opportunity of discussing the policy of those mea-
sures in which the Government had been concerned pre-
vious to the breaking out of the war, and that after such
discussion had taken place ho would then introduce further
estimates to provide for placing the army upon a war foot-
ing, and ho introduced two supplementary estimates which,
together, provided for an addition to the force of the army
of nearly 30,000 men. Comparing the 'estimates of the
present with the origival estimates of the last year, there
is an increase of about 66,000 men ; but as compared with
the whole estimates of the year there is an increasefof hats
35,869, exclusive of 14,950 men in the foreign corps pro-
posed to be raised. The manner in which this increased
number of men is proposed to be spread over the effective
strength of the army is as follows :—lst the first place,
there will be an addition of 1,950 men to the Foot Guards.
The cavalry also will be increased by 3,470 men. The
remainder is to be spread over 41 regiments of infantry of
the line. A battalion of 2,000 strong is to be added to the
60th Rifles, making that regiment one of three battalions,
and a battalion of the same strength is to be added
to the rifle corps, making three battalions also in that
corps. In the course of last year, every regiment,
exclusive of those in India, was raised from an esta-
blishment of 1,000 to 1,200 mon, and directions have
now been given for further raising the force of those regi-
ments-41 in number—now serving in the Crimea, from
1,200 to 2,000 men each. With respect to the distribution
of this force, there are ten regiments of cavalry in the
Crimea, 41 regiments of infantry of the line, and the re-
mainder of the regiments, exclusive of those in India, are
employed in the colonies and the military stations in the
Mediterranean. In the course of the past year a consider-
able reduction has been made in the number of troops
maintained by this country in the colonies. There has
been an addition of ono battalion to the force in the Aus-
tralian colonies, but the Government of these colonies are
called upon to pay for that increased force, and credit is
taken in the estimates for a sum of 12,0001. for the cost of
that battalion. The whole sum payable by the Australian
colonies for the military force maintained there is 30,0001.
Neither at New Zealand nor at Van Diemen's Land has
it been thought advisable to make any reduction in the
military force there stationed. The force at the Cape still
continues very large, and it has not been thought advisable
at present to make any reductions in the number of troops
at present stationed in that colony. A very considerable
reduction has been made in the West India and British
North American colonies. There were formerly three regi-
ments in the West India colonies; there are now only two.
In the British North American colonies there were six
regiments—viz., four in Canada and two in the lower pro-
vinces. There are now only one regiment in Canada (ex-
clusive of the Canadian Rifles) and one in the lower pro-
vinces. It must be satisfactory to know that the reduction
was made almost entirely at the invitation of the colonists
themselves. Thepeople of Canada have expressed their deep
sympathy with this country in the cause in which it is en-
gaged ; and with regard to the force is Nova Scotia, the
legislature of that province has presented an address to the
Crown expressing its readiness to undertake the external
defence of that country, should the Government find it
necessary to withdraw the troops at present stationed there.
Of the two regiments in the British North American colo-
nies, one is now at Quebec and the other at Halifax.
The whole amount of reduction is about 3,000 men, repre-
senting an expeuditure of from tO,OOO/. to 100,0001. (Hear.)
The next vote to which I will call the attention of the com-
mittee includes the charge for the daily pay and daily al-
lowance, which for the number of men I have mentioned,
will atnount in the course of the year to 4,500,0001., being
an increase of about 1,500,0001. There has been no altera-
tion in the rate of pay of the men and officers, with the
exception of that of the colonels of the regiments, which
will be found to range from a sum of 6001. to I,oooi. a year
for the Foot Guards. That addition to the pay of the
colonels has been made in conformity 'with the recom-
mendation of a committee of this house, which had re-
ference to the alteration in the mode of clothing the regi-
ments. (Hear, hear.) With respect to raising the
increased number of men new proposed, it is found that
the effective strength of the army is not equal to the estab-
lishment as voted last year, and that it will be necessary
to recruit 40,000 men in the course of the ensuing year, in
order to bring the army up to its proposed strength. Pro-
vision has therefore been made in theestimates for recruit-
ing up to that number. We have also to add about2o,ooo
men to supply vacancies which are estimated to be caused
by casualties in the course of the year, so that provision is
required to be made for the recruiting of 60,000 men.
The estimated cost of raising this number of men is
513,0001., being an excess over that of the estimate of the
lost
was raised from 41. to 61. during
last
uary last to 81. A plan will be
p
lord at the head of the War Depart-
t: .
coip.
uaoistautumn,
yeard
forgmunb yn , a
for t
h similaraetheu(noble
i u purpose of 378,0001. The bounty upon
r j a infantryu
Depart-
ment for enabling the Government to avail itself of the ser-
vices of a class of recruits of a greater age than that at which
recruits are admitted into the army, whose services will
be i
proposedfof one,two,or three years. The
sum defray the expense of mount-
ingvenor smaller
to
be taken per periods,
ts
0,
the cavalry is 320,0001. This sum will include the
purchase of 7,500 horses for the cavalry of the line ; in fact,
re-mounting almost the entire cavalry of the army. In the
cavalry regiments in the Crimea the effective force was not
more than 4,197 ; but this force has now dwindled down to
an amount not exceeding 1,000. We have also to provide
for bringing up the former establishment of 4,197 to the
proposed increased number of 7,800; and also to provide
for meeting the casualties which are likely to occur in the
course of the ensuing year. The estimated cost of each
horse is sot down at 401., while the original cost was for-
merly not more than 261. It has hitherto been the practice
of the Government to purchase horses at the ago of three
years, and the regulation price was 261. The horses were
kept during two years, during which period they cost the
country about 601. each, and
when five years old they were
fit for service. It is now proposed to buy horses of the
ages of from five to nine years, and the estimated cost of
horses of that age is 401. The next item is that of cost for
clothing, amounting to 105,0001. The system of clothing
the regiments by the colonels has, as I have already said,
been abolished, and the manner in which we have calca-
t g under the new system has been
price of the clothing for each regi-
ment, making an allowance for the colonel's former pecu-
tlanls taked thfiercetostthoefeo claotthin
pecu-
niary profit, and then adding the cost of the clothing for
the additional number of men to be added to each regi-
ment. The colonels of the regiments have now no pecu-
niary interest in the matter, and the bills will be sent in
and paid by the Government. For the expenses of general
regimental hospitalos, an increase is proposed of a sum of
155,0001. Under ordinary circumstances, when a man goes
per
diem,
ilic, the hospitals being self-support-
ing. But when a man becomes sick in the course of active
into the hospital, a deductiontdnochargesismad
made
for the hm h
e
hospitals
ppiatyaloaf havethe
service, the stoppege made from his pay is only equal to
3id., the cost of his rations. The great bulk of the in-
crease in the vote is owing to the establishment of hospi-
talssbuemen ofb borne by
bpyie
in connection with the army in the East at Balaklava,
Scutari, and at the camp before Sebastopol. As an instance
of the difficulty of foreseeing all the probable demands upon
the Government in time of war, I may state that since these
estimates were prepared it has been proposed to estab-
lish a civil hospital at Smyrna, and to place it in charge
of medical practitioners taken from the civil part of the
profession, and no provision is therefore made for this es-
tablishment in the present estimates. In the vote for di-
vine service there is an increase of 79,0001.
The number
of chaplains sent out is 42, of whom 24 belong to the Esta-
blished Church, eight to the Presbyterian, and tan to ,the
Roman Catholic religion. The rate of pay to each chap-
lain is 16s. per day, with the exception of some, who re-
'calve contributions from the Society for the Propagation of
the Gospel, and who receive only 1001. per annum. For
schools and libraries there is an increase, chiefly arising
from increased pay to the schoolmasters, of 7,1501. Owing
to the intention of Government to appoint additional
schoolmasters who have been trained in normal schools, to
establish schools in connection with various regiments and
n ets an increase of eighteen has been made in the num-
ber o' depots,
schoolmasters who have been appointed to the schools
of militia regiments. The whole number of trained school-
mastersnow appointed is seveuty-four, and we estimate that
wo shall be able to appoint thirty additional ones, thus
making a total of 104 schoolmasters. A sum of 150,000/,
is proposed to be voted as allowance to officers and men for
losses, with a view of covering claims to compensation which
are likely to be made in the course of the ensuing year on the
part of officers and men for losses which they may sustain'
while engaged in active service against the enemy. A min'
of 75,0001. is also proposed for " field allowances," consist-
ing of payments made to officers who are actually on service;
upon an average they amount to about 2s. 6d. per day, and
their object is to provide officere' outfit and allowance for
the renewal of private baggage, &c. I next come to the
vote to defray the charges connected with the proposed land
transport service. It has been admitted that the land trans-
port service of the army in the Crimea has fallen into a
state of inefficiency. It has been placed under the charge
of the Commissariat Department. The duties which are
rnissariat Department are ample to occupy
proper to the Com ,
the whole time of any one head of a department, and that
branch of the rarvice,
being over-burdened with itsown spe-
cial duties, has found itself little qualified to cope with diffi-
culties which had to bo surmounted. Not only was this
department called upon to provide the means of transport
! for rations, forage, ammunition, and the carriage of the
sick, but also to provide for carrying up to the camp large
quantities of extra warm clothing for the troops, and large
quantities of huts sent out from this country, and that,
too, at a time when it found animals . the which it had col-
lected together dying in large numbers from insufficiency
of food, badness of roads,
and exposure to inclement wea-
ther. The land transport service was in a state of ineffi-
ciency, and to remedy it the Government have organised