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

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, MARCH 27, 1855.

days. The whole, of the patients were not cleared out
until after the expiration of ten or twelve days.
Sir J. Pakington—Do you think the number of
deaths in that passage was increased in consequence of
the defective arrangements made for their conveyance!
Mr. Flower—No doubt.

COMMISSION SIGNED BY THE QUEEN,

sth or Royal Eltliorpe Light Infantry Regiment of Mid-
dles2x Militia—At:drew Allan, Gent., late Paymaster and
half-pay 9th Lancers, to be Paymaster from the 13th of
February, Feb. 13.

COMMISSIONS SIGNED BY LORD LIEUTENANTS.
4th or Royal South Middlesex Regiment of Militia—
Edward Warren Golding, Gent., to be Ensign, vice Bayn-
tun, appointed to 57th Regiment, March 20.
Hertfordshire Militia—Alexander George Bax, Gent.,
to be Lieutenant ; Charles R.ebert Thompson, Gent., to be
Surgeon, March 22. _ __..... .

Examination continued—He believed that the pa-
tients were all supplied with food during the passage.
He remembered an order which had been issued
by Dr. Hall prohibiting the use of chloroform.
The impression of the medical men out there was de-
cidedly opposed to that order. He (witness) always ad-
ministered chloroform in cases of amputation, both from
motives of humanity and as tending to secure the suc-
cess of the operation. He did not believe that the use of
chloroform was dangerous either in gun-shot wounds, or
in any other cases.
The official return in connection with the Victoria—
the vessel in which witness was brought from the Crimea
to Scutari—was handed in. It stated that 16 persons
died on the passage, but witness said there were many
more tha❑ that. He &so denied the accuracy of
other portions of the return ; amongst other things, the
time occupied in the passage.
By General reel—The 63,1 Regiment consisted chiefly
of t eernits, and the regiment appeared to have suffered
more than any other. He should not have complained
of the hardships on the march had they not continued so
long afterwards.
By Colonel Lindsay—lf the men had been allowed to
carry their tents and knapsacks with them, a vast deal of
sickness and mortality would have been avoided.
Dr. Menzies was recalled—Having explained some
mis-statements he made in his evidence yesterday, he
proceeded to say, in answer to Lord Seymour, that
the reports made to him by Dr. M‘Gregor were not
always satisfactory. Occasionally it was men-
tioned that he had not sufficient assistance in
regard to medical men. Some medical men were sent
to him from Malta, but he never sent them away
with the remark that he did not require their
services. They arrived after the battle of the Alma. He
did not apply for them, but Lord Stratford recommended
him to avail himself of the assistance of any civilians
who might offer themselves. His lordship went through
the hospital and saw that there was not sufficient
medical attendance. He (witness) was aware of that,
and had made an application to Dr. Hall and Dr.
Andrew Smith. He availed himself of all the asssis-
tance he could obtain. He had no notes by which he
ceuld -tell the dates at which he made the application.
Dr. M‘Gregor obtained two private practitioners from
Constantinople. Including those who came from
Malta, he thought he obtained the services of about
seven civilians. When Dr. M‘Gregor took charge of
the barrack hospital he made no special report in regard
to its condition. Dr. M'Ciregor made several reports,
but he could not remember what was the nature of
them. He remembered that on one or two occasions
he complained of the want of orderlies. He (witness)
on inspecting the hospital thought it was not in a proper
state of cleanliness, but that there were many difficulties
in the way of keeping it in a satisfactory condition.
He represented the matter to the commandant, but he
had no copy of the letter. Various reports had been
made to him, but he had left them all at Scutari.
(Laughter.) He had no books here of an official
character, or in which he had preserved documents re-
lative to the discharge of his duties. It was in
the month of July last that he communicated
with Major Sillery, the Commandant, as to the
state of the barracks. The Commandant applied to
the engineers' department, and they made the necessary
alterations, but the evil could not be remedied. The
engineers put it into as good order as they could, but he
was always dissatisfied.
Mr. Layard—Do you think that when you had made
representations as to the state of the hospital you had
done your duty, and were justified in then leaving the
matter to take care of itself ?

Forfar and Kincardine Regiment of Militia Artillery—
Robert Tod Boothby, Esq., to bo Captain, Jan. 1 ; James
Fitzmaurice Scott, Esq., to be Captain; Thomas Broun,
Gent., to be Ensign, March 17.

The Galloway Rifles—Robert Duncan :Fergusson, Esq.,
to be Major, vice Robert Hathorn Johnstone Stewart,
Esq., resigned, March 20.
Ist Durham Regiment of Militia—Lieutenant John Rus-
sell Bowlby to bee tptain, vice Maude, deceased ; Ensign
George Webb to ha Lieutenant, vice Bowlby, promoted,
hlai ch 19.

Royal South Gloucester Regiment of Militia—James
Coles, Gent., to ha Assistant-Surgeon, vice Hepworth,
promoted, March 21.
let Regiment of Royal Cheshire Militia—William Vigor
Fox, Gent., to be E'isign, March 10; Yu Yr Deane Haw-
trey Parke, Gent., to be Ensign, March 20.
2a Regiment of Royal Cheshire Militia—James Broft
Byers, Gent., to be Lieutenant, March 10; William Roe
Co,ksou, Gent., to be Ensign, vice Davenport, appointed
to Rifle Brigade, March 15.
Bedfordshire Regiment of Militia—Lieutenant George
Cobb Ledger to be Captain, vice Lindsell, resigned, March
17 • Eneigu John Robert Grayson to be Lieutenant, vice
Ledger, promoted, March 19. •
2d Regiment of Royal Busks Yeomanry Cavalry—
Henry Small, Gent., to be Cornet, vice Doherty, resigned.
Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry Cavalry—Captain Thomas
Manders, from the Gth Dragoon Guards, to be Captain and
Adjutant, vice Johnson, deceased; Henry Calley, Gent.,
to be Lieutenant, vice the Hon. George Barrington, re-
signed, March 13.
Royal Wiltshire Militia—Nathaniel Whitchurch Sloper,
Esq., to be Captain, vice Heathcote, promoted; John
Austin Moultrie, Gent., to be Lieutenant, vice Arthur
Austin Moultrie, resigned, March 20.
7th Regiment of Royal Lancashire Militia—John Edward
Madocks, Esq., late Captain 13th Light Dragoons, to be
Lieutenant-Colonel, March 22; Alexander Gordon Moor-
head, Esq., late Captain 40th Foot, to be Captain, March
23 ; Charles Edward Leigh, Esq., late 99th Foot, to be
Captain, March 24.

Dr. Menzies—l could do nothing else. I made fre-
quent representations as to the condition of the barrack
hospital, and pointed out the cause of the nuisances.
By Lord Seymour—He knew that some further means
were taken to remedy the defects, and he became satis-
fied after August. He could not say that the barrack
hospital was perfectly clean at that time, or that it was
free from offensive smells. (Laughter.) Dr. Menzies
then condemned the system of cooking adopted at the
hospital, which he said was the fault of the purveyor.
In reference to the charge which had been made against
him, that persons unfit for duty had been sent back to
the Crimea, he denied that any blame was attached to
him, inasmuch as he had left the whole direction of the
matter to another officer. If that officer neglected his
duty he ought to be punished. He had no reason to
complain of the medical men under his charge, who all
did their duty well. He admitted that, in many cases,
there was great irregularity in supplying the men in
hospital with their dinners and other meals, and no
doubt great suffering was the result. He wrote over
and over again to the purveyor, but he would not obey
his orders.

At ten minutes before four the committee 'adjourned
until to-morrow.

THE LONDON GAZETTE.
(TEI IS EVENING.)

LORD CHAMBERLAIN'S OFFICE,. MARCH 13.
Notice is hereby given, that her Majesty will hold a
Drawing-Room at S. James's Palace, on Thursday the
29th instant, at two o'clock.
LORD CIIAIIIBERLAIN'S OFFICE, MARCH 27.
Notice is hereby given. that the State Apartments of
Windsor Castle will be closed on mud after the 28th in-
stant, until further orders.
FOREIGN-OFFICE, MARCH 2G.
Thc.-. Queen has been pleased to approve of Signor Ales-
sandro Wendling as Vice-Consul at Malta for his Majesty
the King of the Two Sicilies.
FOREIGN-OFFICE, MARCH 27.
The Queen has been pleased to approve of Mr. Bernhard
Hebeler, as Consul-General in London for the Free City of
Frankfort.
DOWNING-STREET, MARCH 26.
The Queen has been pleased to appoint Ker Bailie Ha-
milton, Esq , now Governor and Commander-in-Chief in
and over the island of Newfoundland and its dependencies,
to bo Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over the
islands of Antigua, Montserrat, Barbuda, St. Christopher,
Nevis, Anguilla, the Virgin Islands, and Dominica.
Her Majesty has also been pleased to appoint Charles
Henry Darling, Esq. , late Lieutenant-Governor of the
colony of the Cape of ,Good Hope, to be administrator of
the Government of the Island of Newfoundland, and its
dependencies.
WHITEItALL, MARCH 26.
The Queen has been pleased to present the Rev. George
Stewart Burns to the chuxch and parish of Orr, alias Urr,
in the stewartry of Kirkcudbright, and Presbytery of
Dumfries, vacant by the death of the Rev. George Mack-
wight Burnside.
WAR-OFFICE, MARCH 27.
Scots Fusilier Guards—Captain John Scott, from the
nth Foot, to be Lieutenant and Captain, by purchase,
vice Bulwer, who retires, /larch 27.
79th Regiment of Foot--Lieutenant Philip Percival to
be Captain, by purchase, vice Scott, promoted in the Scots
Fusilier Guards, March 27.
Rifle Brigade—David Alexander Gordon, Gent., to be
Ensign, without purchase, March 21.
BREVET.
The undermentioned Officers of the East India Com-
pany's service to be promoted to a step of local rank in
Turkey while employed in the Turkish Contingent
Force :
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL TO HAVE THE LOCAL RANK OF
COLO:TEL IN TURKEY.
Jams George Neil, tat Madras European Regiment.,
MAJORS TO HAVE THig LOCAL RANK OF LIRIIT:ENANT-
COLON ILLS IN TURKEY.
Stephen James Stever ie, C. 8., Bombay Retired List.
Charles Hunter, Born bay Retired List.
Do lienzie James Brett, 3d Madras European Regiment.
John Holmes, 12th B, srnbay Native Infantry.
George Powel Thomas, 3d Bengal European Regiment.
George Fleetwood Ch arks Fitzgerald, Bengal Artillerry-
William Munton Go nthorpe, 6th Madras Native la-
fantry.
Richard Crewe, 45th Madras Native Infantry.
John Bartleman, Ben gal Retired List.
CAPTAINS TO HAVE THE LOCAL BANK OF MAJORS IN
TURKEY.
George Miller, Benga I Retired List.
Charles Lloyd Edwar kis, Bengal Retired List.
Walter Richard Barn RS, half-pay Bengal Establishment;
Roger Montague Nor th, Madras Retired List.
William Borlase Ste rens, Retired Madras Artillery.
George Travers Saye r Carruthers, let Madras N.I.
Edward. William Bo adier, 51st Madras N.I.
Charles William Du Mir' Bengal Retired List.
James Edward May ne, Madras Cavalry.
William Charles Alexander, 10th Bengal Cavalry.
James Grant Stephen, Sth Bengal Native Infantry.
Henry Stanley, sth Bombay Native Infantry.
Reginald Best Brett, Bombay Artillery.
Edward Wray, Bonabay Artillery.
Edmune 1 Walter Chickeley Plowden, Bengal Retired
List.
Roland Richardson, 3d Bengal Light Cavalry.
Albert ,:leorge Austen, Bengal Artillery.
LIEUTENt INTS TO HAVE THE LOCAL RANK OF CAPTAINS
IN TURKEY.
Marcus Augustus Garstin, 73d Bengal Native Infantry.
Archibs Id Hamilton Campbell, 9th Bengal Native Inf.
Felix: A ug. V. Thurburn, 14th Bengal Native Infantry.
Edwaxi Henry M. Owen, 28th Madras Native Infantry.
Alfred Louis Rishton, Ist Madras Native Infantry.
Wm. _Uferbert Cuming, lit Madras Native Infantry.
Henry, Francis, Bengal Artillery.
Donal,d M`Neill, Bengal Artillery.
Geori :e Milligan, Bengal Artillery.
Edast tnd Smyth, 13th Bengal Native Infantry.
Willi am Wylde Browne, 9th Bombay Native Infantry.
Arth ar Broome, 28th Madras Native Infantry.
Willi am Walker, Ist Bombay Grenadiers.
John laillie, 26th Bengal Native Infantry.
Charlf is C. Muson, 48th Madras Native Infantry.
Charle s P. Lucas, 47th Bengal Native Infantry.
Charli Desborough, Madras Artillery.
Audit )w Robert Clephane, 24th Madras Native lON. retry
Edwa rd Bannerman Ramsay, 31st Madras Nativ ae In
fantry.
Chart es Armstrong, 14th Bengal Native Infantry.
Hour , James Harness, 10th Madras Native Infar. try.
Willi am A. Armstrong, 3d Bombay European Re 4; invent.
Char' LOS Shuckburgh Hearn, 26th Madras Na Live dantry,
Robe rt Charles Battiscombe, Bombay Artillery.
Churl es Wyndham, 9th Bengal Light Cavalry.
Char ,es William Quin, 2d Bengal Light Cavalry .
Char;ru George Brodie, 25th Bengal Native In feentry.
Freda- rick E. Gammell, Bengal Artillery.
Henry :fohn Revell Low, 40th Bengal Native In 'Autry.
R ichsa-c'i Surtees Sherwood, Ist Bombay Light C i valry.
Willis., a Matthew Grierson, Bengal Light Infant ry.
James Hastie, 2d Madras European Regiment.
T. 33 Heathoru, Bombay Artillery.
Ancl rew Hugh Bogle, Bengal Artillery.
'xagh George Robison, 3d Bombay European R et :iment.
SS clney Henry Jones Parry, Ist Madras Europe` ui Regt.
D slivers James Smith, Gth Bombay Native Infa, atry.
S itcoNp LIEUTENANTS TO HIVE THE LOCAL RANK: ,OF
LIEUTENANTS IN TURKEY.
▪ 'illiam H. Malden, Bombay Artillery.
award L. Hawkins, Bengal Artillery.
G oarge Julius Glanville, 2d Bengal Fusiliers.
II nugorford Deedes Jackson, Bengal Artillery.
E Reign Charlei Garrett Smith, Bth Madras Native flf•

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT

is proportionate to the services that their troops have
been called upon to perform. (Hear, bear.)
The vote was then agreed to, and the house resumed.
NEWSPAPER STAMP BILL.
Petitions in favour of the abolition of the newspaper
stamp were presented by Mr. Cowan, from Edinburgh ;
by Sir J. Shelley, from Westminster and other parts of
the metropolis ; and by Mr. Hudson, from the printers
and newsvendors of Sunderland.
Mr. MILNER GIBSON presented a petition from the
proprietors of the Illustrated London News, praying that
the Newspaper Stamp Bill be passed immediately; and
another from the principal publishers in London, includ-
ing the Longmans, Murray, Hurst and Blackett, Chap-
man and Hall, and Bentley, praying that printed matter
might be passed through the post at the rate of ld. per
four ounces.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER moved the
second reading of the bill.
Mr. DEEDES, in rising to move the amendment of
which he had given notice, that the second reading of the
bill be postponed till after the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer had made his financial statement, said that when
the right hon. gentleman introduced to a committee of
the whole house those resolutions upon which he based
this bill, he had not the good fortune to be present, and
had not, therefore, the advantage of hearing the ,argue
monte used by the right hcn. gentleman upon that occa-
sion; but on referring to the usual channels of informa-
tion to ascertain what had passed he was forcibly struck
by the very slight encouragement which the right hon.
gentleman obtained from those who followed him in the
debate. It appeared to him as if every one who spoke
had some stone to cast at the right honourable gentle-
man, and was exceedingly anxious to point out to him that
his proposed measure was not wanted by the count's gene-
rally. If the right hon. gentleman had taken the advice
tendered to him upon that occasion, and had abstained
from interfering in the way of legislation in this matter,
instead of following the course which his predecessor had
laid down for him, he would have escaped the difficult and
delicate task which he had imposed upon himself; both
that house and the country generally would have con-
sidered him perfectly justified in adopting that course, and
he would have lived to survive any attacks which might
have been made upon him from Manchester or elsewhere.
The observations which the right hon. gentleman was re-
ported to have made at the conclusion of the debate fur-
nished a complete answer to the necessity or advisability
of bringing forward the measure which he had now sub-
mitted to the consideration of the house. He based the
necessity of dealing with the question upon certain resolu-
tions passed unanimously during the last session, at the
instance of the right hon. gentleman the member for Man-
chester. But what did he say with regard to the financial
part of the question ? His remarks upon that point were
an answer to any necessity he might have felt for introduc-
ing the measure at the present moment. He said—" If we
had at this time a surplus revenue, and if the expenditure
of the country did not greatly exceed its revenue, the
newspaper stamp would have a fair claim to enter into
any repeal or readjustment of taxes, and those who ob-
ject to it might claim that its repeal should have pre-
cedence in any financial scheme. This, however, is not
the financial state of the country, and, if the house should
decide in favour of this measure, it would be my duty to
call upon them to provide for the deficiency of the revenue
by some other mode of taxation." (Hear, hear.) The
right hon. gentleman went on to say :—" It is my duty to
inform the house that the estimate of persons of authority
as to the loss of revenue must not be taken to be less than
200,0001. Such a loss of revenue is no doubt inconvenient
at the present moment. On the other hand, the house
will bear in mind that, to refuse to repeal the stamp would
be to recede from the unanimous resolution which it agreed
to last session, and will render necessary the passing of
some measure declaratory of the law." Now, nobody
would argue that any resolution of that house should
lightly be passed over; but every one must admit that
there was a fitting time for dealing with important public
questions, and the great objection to this bill was that it
had been introduced at an improper and inopportune time.
(Hear, hear.) Perhaps the terms of his amendment would
indicate that his objection to the measure was entirely
confined to the'financial part of the question ; but he was
strongly impressed with the conviction that the bill was
open to far more serious objection in other respects. He
considered clause 1 to be the very pith and marrow of the
bill. The subsequent provisions referred to matters of
detail, but clausal provided that there should be no fur-
ther compulsory stamp duty for any newspaper, that there
should be no further compulsory registration, and that there
should be no further declarations. All these were matters
which had been enacted for the purpose of preventing un-
'air attacks being made in newspapers upon private charac-
ter, of raising as much as possible the character of the pub-
lications in question, and of offering a remedy if abuses
should exist ; but now they were no longer thought to be
necessary. He confessed that he looked with considerable
dread to a relaxation of the law which would enable any
person so minded to pander to the vices and prejudices of
those whom he might call ignorant and uneducated, and
therefore not able to discriminate between right and wrong.
He had seen, within the last dayor two papers and writings
of the description to which he alluded, and he should be
very sorry to see them multiplied in this country. (Hear.)
Again, he objected entirely upon principle to taxing infor-
mation by the inch ; and because any one paper should
have taken more trouble and gone to more expense to get
information which was palatable to its readers and to the
public, he saw no reason why it should be called upon to
pay a heavier tax than a paper which catered less for the
public amusement or instruction. Was the present sys-
tem so faulty as to require amendment ? If so, was it
immediate amendment that was necessary, or was the
amendment proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer
likely to meet the evil. He was quite ready to admit that
there were in the present system faults which required
amendment, and that there were anomalies to which it
would be desirable to put an end ; but he denied that they
existed to such an extent as to render it necessary for the
Chancellor of theEschequer to devise at present a plan for
the express purpose _of removing them. At some future
-line they might well be considered ; but he did not think
that the present measure was calculated to remedy those
evils in a manner that would be fair and just to existing
intore.sts. He was one of those who had frequently thought
that the press of this country sometimes overstepped the
' bounds of discretion, and had made unfair attacks upon pri-
vate character ; ho believed, too, upon a recent occasion that
letters and statements had been sent from the seat of war
which were highly coloured and exaggerated ; but still he
was convinced that, on the whole, this country was greatly
indebted to the press for the exertions it had made to pro-
vide the public with information from the Crimea ; and
he thought they would have reason to regret if the press
should not in future have the power of following their vo-
cation in that respect. In dealing with this question he
could not altogether disregard the general subject of edu-
cation. There were at the present moment on the table of
the house two bills relating to that subject. He under-
stood they were to be referred for consideration to a select
committee, and if, as he suspected, the tendency of this
bill would be to give, rise to publications of a licentious
and immoral nature, he should like to have the opinion of
that committee before he ventured to consent to the pass-
ing of such a measure. There was another point which he
considered of great importance—the question of copyright.
Here he had the valuable opinion of the late Chancellor of
the Exchequer to stand him in -.aid. The right hon. gee-.
OF COMMONS—YESTERDAY. tleman said upon that subject :—" There is another
THE SARDINIAN CONTINGENT. point which is not a matter of indifference to me—
; Continued front our third edition of last evening.) • namely, the question of copyright for the protection
Mr. GLADSTONE was anxious that the question of literary property in newspapers. I don't wonder,
before the house should be placed on a proper footing, so far as we know anything of the plan of my right
and trusted that no comment in another form would hon. friend from his explanation to-night, that he has not
nincludedeedipLhaismbaitlltearrTvi clauses
referenceupo n this i swshui
ch tt .
would
think,ulfe
place it in an unjust light. (Hear, hear.) Sardinia had
peculiar claims upon our sympathy and respect.
very difficult to devise a plan. At the same time lam
In times far more favourable to the freedom of consti- under the impression that the proprietors of newspapers,
tutional Government, at times when other coun- in many cases, entertain great anxiety that the provisions
tries had as it were freedom within their grasp of the law with respect to the protection of literary pro-
and lost it again—when retrogression marked other perty should undergo special consideration, and should, if
nations, Sardinia, a country amongst difficulties practicable, receive some extension with a view to the pro-
almost insuperable, succeeded in establishing the bless- tection of literary property in newspapers. Undoubtedly,
ings of a free doverninent. He thought his hon. so far as the article that is most strictly called "news" is
ourable friend the member for Malton was quite jus- concerned—for instance, the communication of facts,
tilled in commenting upon the happy union between which may generally be comprised within a very brief
that country and our own, while he thought the case space, and the language, the outward shape and form of
attem which can be varied almost at will—l d 3 not how you are
red to be set up by the hon. gentleman who had
to introduce any,further provisions -than the law at pre-
just sat down against the financial character of Sardi sent contains ; but I have understood from some persons
nia had not been by any means clearly established. He who ought to be well informed on the subject that the
admitted that all questions of this nature ought to be great anxiety of those who think this question worth con-
regarded with jealousy by this house ; but he held that sideration in the press as it stands, is not so much directed
the present was a loan and not a subsidy. In answer to the protection of their_ news'
difficultl,etl EitOocarlloed,:vhaiscltao,
to Mr. Bowyer's calculations, he would only ask in in point of fact, it would b
mv.ry
ore fairly be called their
what instance that country bad ever failed in fulfilling the protection. of what-may
lite-
its obligations I rary compositions, for examp.e, the leading articles in their
newspapers, and especially. as regards the London press,
Mr. ADDERLEY objected to the resolution, and
the communications of their foreign cerrespondents. Now,
could regard this money in no other light than as a loan. I for one am very anxious that, either in the plan of my
It would' be much better to draw auxiliaries from our right hen. friend, or in some other effective form, this
Canadian and other colonists than any foreign country question should be brought to a settlement." If the right
whatever. honourable gentleman were in his place he would ap-
Mr. SINNAIRD complained that hon. gentlemen peal to him to say whether the question of copyright was
opposite were now pursuing the very course of dispa- dealt with in the bill before the house. There was no
raging foreign aid which had already rained the forma- protection whatever to newspaper proprietors in that mea-
tion of the foreign legion. sure. The words with which the late Chancellor of the
Mr. DISRAELI denied that the neglect in embodying
Exchequer concluded this part of his speech were so strong
that he could not resist quoting them They were :—" I
the militia was owing to the Government of which he
do not venture to prejudge this question, but I
would
ven-
was a member, and reiterated his former arguments,
ture to express a hope that, in endeavouring to carry out
the principle of the freedom of the press, my right hon.
that it was owing to the mismanagement of the Govern-
friend will not be indisposed to take into' his favourable
ment, the di-regard of the militia, and the neglect of the
regular army, that these foreign troops were now wanted. consideration any reasonable proposition which may be
After some further personal explanations from Lord made to him for the improvement of the law of copyright,
PA.LIIEBSTON and Mr. Bowrzn respecting the militia, in order that we may not run any risk of breaking down
Mr. J. BALL controverted the statements of Mr. that system under which the highest talent in the country
Bowyer respecting the finances of Sardinia, and stated, is largely applied and advantageously devoted to supplying
from his own knowledge of the country, that though the public with intelligence, and to the discussion of that
there were at present some financial difficulties they t
intelligence. I must confess that I should regard the de-
sruction. f at syste as a üblims-
were of a'purely temporary character, and were rapidly
fortune which Ith am the lees dui' pposedc to linear, because' I
disappearing. do not look upon it as a natural or necessary consequence
Mr. COBDEN would yield to no one in admiration of the important measure of emancipation which is now
of the constitutional government of Sardinia, whose contemplated by her Majesty's Government." In looking
progress in civil and religious liberty he had long watched over the present bill he was compelled to conclude that the
with intense interest, but he confessed he felt that her misfortune which the late Chancellor of the Exchequer de-
present step was not a wise one. He could not under- precated was likely to occur. A great improvement had
stand why Sardinia, which was always regarded as an taken place in the general tone adopted by the press ; 11710
equipoise to Austrian power in Italy, should be dragged for that reason, among others, he thought it ought to
d wee -
into the war before Austria fired a shot. But mere than by
the Atter-
protected. He remembered when. day after day, an le
after week, prosecutions were instituted
all, he could not understand why this convention should
have been entered into at a moment when the prelimi- to the country; and he should
nay-General, on the part of the Crown against publica-
tions that were a disgrace
nary negotiations had made such progress that within a
be exceedingly sorry to see those publications revived.
week we might have a certainty of peace. He wished to Ho believed that the country at large was satisfied with
know whether the noble lord had taken the precaution the law as it now stood, and ho submitted that,
of withholding the( money if the expenditure was rendered unless under very favourable circumstances, theeoxgiestthin;
unnecessary by the establishment of peace ?
question.
arrangements ought not to be disturbed. Entertaining
Mr. M. MILNES repeated substantially the same these general objections to the bill, he might be asked why
question. did not movo the rejection of the measure
alt
Lord PALMERSTON said this treaty was made with His answer to that was, that he did not wish to embarrass
its
Sardinia on the supposition that the Sardinian contin • the Government at the present moment, when
most distinguished members was engaged atVinene of
conferences of vital importance to the world. He came
gent would have to go to the seat of war to carry on
; now to the more immediate subject of his amendment---
in conjunction with the British army during
the war. This million of money wee, by the terms of , the financial view of the question. Here be mui
the convention, to be advancel in two halves—one as say that he was at a loss to imagine on
whatground
soon as possible after the assent of Radiant, nt had been his proposition could be opposed. He hadalready asked
t
given, and the other at the end of six months. Of course the opinion of the Chancellor of the Exchequer himself as
the laipossibilit of abolishing the the Sardinian Government wanted money to meet the to the present condition of the finances of the country, and
greater expense incurred by an assay in the field as coin.
out calln u
some other
Y a-oasuing nowspwer stamp wit,ll2; -
pared with that incurred hyena stationed at home. Some toh;3 people to in a k
tax, right
oi en d
bliacrioenne? the
of this expense must have been incurred in preparing member for Portsmouth,
xiona The
haao filled the office of
the contingent for the field. If peace should be made Chancellor of the
before the army bad embarked, only a certain por-
tion of the expense would have been incurred ; should the revenue at a nester of a million, and remarked, "The
Chancellor of the Exchequer has fairly told you that if you
it reach the seat of war, a still larger portion of that pass this measure he inust of necessity propose some other
expense must be met ; and so on in proportion to taxation to compensate for the sum it is proposed should be
the time for which it serves. The only answer I can lost. Well, then let us know what is the taxation which'
give is, therefore, that, if peace should be inade the right hon. gentleman will propose in lieu."t Surely that
reasonable. proposition. These were not
earlier than the treaty contemplates there will naturally
be a fresh arrangement between the two Governments, i • whichthe house b •
weiamse a nfairanti
“large sums Of money should be thrown
without eing told how the deficiency was
dependent on the particular moment at which peace shall itLow:3; made up. The right hon. baronet then proceeded to
be made. I cannot imagine that the Sardinian Govern- speak of the details of the measure, and he said :—" I will
ment would wish to throw on us a greater burden than not now enter further into details of the plan which the

HOUSE OF LORDS-(YESTERDAY.)

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

POSTAL ARRANGEMENTS WITH AUSTRALIA.
The Earl of HARDWICKE rose to present *a petition
from the Australian Postal Association complaining of,
and calling attention to, the unsatisfactory state of the
postal arrangements with Australia. The noble earl said
that in 1851 contracts were entered into for the conveyance
of letters to Australia by the overland route, in connection
with the steamers of the Oriental Steam Navigation Com-
pany, and also by steamers by the Cape of Good Hope, the
former route being travelled in GO to 65, the latter in 61
to 70 days. This arrangement continued till the commence-
ment of the war. The postal revenue obtained from the
communication with Australia was 90,0001. a year ; the
value of the exports to that country in the year 1853 was
14,506,5321. ; but at the present moment the postal com-
munication• was stopped ; that was to say, it was carried
on only by sailing vessels ; and the consequence was that
the communication, which formerly occupied six weeks,
now occupied four or five months. The petition which he
had presented admitted that there had been a derange
meat of the steam communication on this side of the
Isthmus of Suez, but denied that env en h arrangement
had occurred on the other side of that i.thmus, and asset-
ed that therefore so far as that part of the route was con-
cerned, the regularity heretofore observed might have been
maintained. The petitioners stated that there existed
in Australia several companies possessing ships well
adapted for the conveyance of mails, and they prayed
their lordships to take into consideration the injury sus-
tained by the general interests of the colony from the
suspension of mail communication, and to address her
Majesty, praying her Majesty to direct arrangements to
be made for the re-establishment of that communication
Whatever difficulty might exist in carrying on the postal
service as it was carried on before, he thought that
difficulty might be met in the same manner as it had been
met with regard to other colonies, and he saw no reason
why the colonists should not be permitte 1 to set up a
postal communication of their own. (Elear.)

Lord CANNING said there could be no doubt that the
subject was one of great importance, both to the mercan-
tile interests of this country and to the interests of the
colonists, and deserved every consideration. He thought,
however, that the noble earl had been led into some little
error by the allegations in the petition. The statement
with regard to the postal communication producing
90,0001. a year was made from an insufficient knowledge
of the facts. So far from that being the produce of the
postal TOVeIIIIO-__

The Earl of HARDWICKE observed that 90,0001. was
the gross revenue, out of which the postal service was
carried on.

Lord CANNING said that that statement was very far
from being accurate. It appeared from a report laid on the
table last session that the amount received two years ago
was not half that sum. About six months ago a consider-
able diminution took place, in consequence of the reduc-
tion in the colonial postage, the reduction in the case of
Australia being more than one-half, and the whole amount
of postal revenue received from the Australian mails,
during the last six months, was not more than at the rate
of 36,000/. a year. Now with respect to the offer of the
packet owners to contract. A proposal was made to him,
some time ago, to enter into an engagement, or give an
undertaking to a company not possessing a steam or sail-
ing vessel, that the Government would enter into a contract
with them, on their constructing steam or sailing vessels
for the purpose of carrying the mails. Now, the adoption
of such a course of proceeding would not only have been
rash on the part of the Government, but it would have been
unfair to other companies. The principle on which the Go-
vernment had hitherto acted had been not to entertain pro-
posals from companies whose means of performing contracts
were not in existence. (Hear, hear.) The reason which had
led to the suppression of the Australian steam service was
very evident. War was a hard taskmaster, claiming the
application of every possible resource. Little more than
two years ago there were in existence two lines of steam
communication with Australia, but last year the require-
ments of the war had caused steamers to be drafted, from
all steam companies, and from the two Australian com-
panies especially. It so happened that at that time he
was in communication with the Peninsular and Oriental
Company, with the view of increasing their bi-monthly
communication, which would have given 18 instead of 12
mails in the course of the year ; but the demands of the
war were so urgent that further sacrifices were demanded
from the company. Australia was not the only colony
which had suffered. Eight vessels had been taken from
the Peninsular and Oriental Company for the transport of
troops and stores. The company which carried the mails
to the Cape of Good Hope had given up seven of their
vessels. Cunard's line had given up eight. At this mo-
ment there were not fewer than from 27 to 20 large postal
steamers employed by the Government for the purposes
of the war. He was far from saying that Australia had
not suffered more than the other colonies ; but the Go-
vernment had no resources to fall back upon but the old
sailing vessels. The Government were so conscious of the
injuries which had been inflicted on the Australian colonies
that notwithstanding the exigencies of the war, they were
in communication with parties most likely to be able to
supply the deficiency, and inquiries had been made of the
Peninsular and Oriental Company as to the terms on which
they would consent to supply certain accommodation, and
the time which they would require to enable them
to do so. He did not look to the existing arrange-
ment as a permanent one. He thought the petition had
been drawn up in ignorance) of what was really practicable.
He did not believe there were more than one or two
steamers in Australia able to take the long voyage. The
noble earl had fallen into an error with regard to the dif-
ference of time consumed in the voyage between sailing
vessels and steam vessels, stating that it now took four or
five months to write and receive an answer between Aus-
tralia and England, whereas formerly not more than five
or six weeks were required. Nov there was no case of
which he was aware in which the post had travelled be-
tween the two extremities in that time.

The Earl of HARD WICKE remarked that the voyage
which was formerly performed in Six weeks now took 3
months.

Lord CANNING said that by the Cape line the average
passage was from eighty-five to ninety days. Notwith-
standing the pressure on the finances of the country, it
was the intention of the Government to re-establish au
efficient steam communication with Australia, but ho
hoped that the Australian colonies, and those persons who
had influence in their councils, would manifest a litCe
patience in the matter, and show theuisolVe.3 willing fur a
time to endure the inconvenience which they had experi-

enced.
The Earl of HARDIVICK E said ho understood the dif-
ference between sailing and steam vessels varied from 61
days to 90 or 100 days. He believed the Australasian
Steam Company was in possession of twenty steamers in
Australia, many •f them as large as 700 or 800 tons.
The subject then dropped.
DESPATCH OF BUSINESS (COURT OF CHAN-