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

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SUN OFFICE, Seven o'Clock.

MINISTERIAL MOVEMENTS.

Since our first edition went to press, we hare
been informed that Lord Lansdowne has had in-
terviews with Lord John Russell, Mr. Gladstone,
and Mr. Sidney Herbert, and that there is every
reason to believe that the Noble Marquis, in con-
junction with Lord Palmerston, has undertaken
the formation of a Cabinet.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—(THIS EVENING.)
The SPBAKHIL took the chair shortly before four o'clock.
The house was very much thronged on both sides, and
all the galleries were filled with visitors.
PRIVATE BUSINESS.
The Bolton and Nightingales' Road Bill, and Wigan
and Preston Roads, North of Yarrow Bill, were read A
second time aid ordered to be committed.

VOTE OF THANKS TO SIR
DE LACY EVANS.
This gallant officer came in about half-past four
o'clock. H. appeared in full military uniform, and was
received with the most vociferous cheering, both sides of
the house rising and remaining uncovered until he had
taken his seat just below the gangway of the Ministerial
side. When thA hnntnamblet and gallant general had
taken his seat,

The SPEAKIR addressed him from the chair to the
following effect. He said—General Evans, I have to in-
form you that, on tue 15th Dec. the house azreed
to the following resolution, nemine contradicente,
wiz.-" That the thanks of this house be given to Lieut.
General Sir De Lacy Evans, and to several other of-
ficers therein-mentioned, for their gallantry, ability, and
distinguished exertions during the actions in which her
Majesty's forces were engaged with the enemy." Lieut.-
General Sir De Lacy Evans, it is with feelings of pride
and satisfaction that the house welcomes the return of
one who has borne so conspicuous a part in the brilliant
achievements which have characterised the movements
of the British army during the present war. (Cheers.)
At the battle of the Alma you encountered and overcame,
with admirable coolness, the almost insuperable difficul-
ties which beset the Second Division of the army.
(Hear, hear.) Your repulse of the formidable attack of
the Russians on the 26th October displayed commanding
courage, and the service which you, along with your
troops, rendered the country on that occasion, have been
honourably recognised. (Hear.) Also on the heights of
Inkerman you displayed such undaunted courage—(tre-
mendous cheers)—as to call forth the marked admiration
of your fellow-countrymen. (Renewed cheers.) When
rising from a bed of sickness you sustained amidst the
fight with your great experience the gallant officer in

temporary command of your division, and you at the
same time refused to withhold from him the honour,
while you shared with him the dangers of the en-
counter. (Great cheering.) Lieutenant-General Sir De
Lacy Evans your conduct throughout the whole
of this memorable campaign has been marked by the
same intrepid gallantry which had already distinguished
your early military career—(loud cheers)—and has justly
gained for you the highest honour which it is in the
power of this house to bestow. (Continued cheers.)
It is, therefore, with feelings of unfeigned satisfaction
that I now, in the name, and by command of the Corn-
along of the United Kingdom, deliver to you their
unanimous thanks for the zeal, energy, and ability
with which you have discharged your onerous duties in
the several actions in which her Majesty's forces have
recently been engaged. (Loud cheers.)
Sir DE LACY EVANS rose to reply, which was
the signal for a renewed burst of cheering. In a feeble
voice, which was occasionally inaudible in the gallery,
he said, as far as we could gather—l beg to assure you,
sir, and the house, that I appreciate most deeply the
very high honour you have bestowed on me. There is
no honour which a British subject can aspire to, or
more ardently desire, higher than that which is con-
veyed in the recognition of his public services, what-
ever they may be, by the representatives of the
Commons of England. (Loud cheers.) Sir, I hope
I shall be pardoned if I remark that while
I am fully sensible of the responsibility that recently
devolved upon me, and deeply appreciate the vete which
this house has come to, yet I certainly think I was just as
good an officer and just as deserving of the compliment
some 20 years ago as I am now. (Hear, and a laugh.)
For I really do think that I had then a much more
diffienit and intricate duty to perform, while I performed
it perhaps with far more success than that which
attended the less important service which I have re-
cently endeavoured to render the state. (Hear, hear.)
Sir, I cannot allow this opportunity to pass without ob-
serving that the kind and honourable reception which I
have this day experienced at the hands of this house is
alike due to the noble division which I had the honour
to command, from the highest officer down to the lowest
private, and I feel that it is almost exclusively attri-
bitable to their devotion and exertioes that I owe
the pleasure of being here at this moment.
(Sensation.) That being so, I must confess that I am
under the painful necessity of saying,:that when the vote
of thanks which I am here to-night to receive was pro-
posed, the gallantry of that division was not sufficiently
recognised ; for on reading the speech of the noble lord
who lately represented the Government in this house
when proposing the vote, I was somewhat astonished at
the official statement he made; because it appeared to me
that he had taken a totally different view (if not wholly
overlooked) of the services of that portion of the army
which I recently had the honour to command, and which
you, sir, have done me the honour to refer to in such
flattering terms. Sir, I am sorry to be obliged to think
that when at least one-half of the Second Division had
perished in battle or otherwise, there should still be
wanting an expression of gratitude towards those who
remain, and I therefore may be pardoned in endeavour-
ing now to place the matter on a more just footing than
that on which the noble lord left it. (Hear, hear.) Sir,
the noble lord, while speaking of the Battle of the Alma,
indulged in a tone which reminded me very forcibly of a
remark once made by a late witty divine, whom we all
well knew, namely, that the noble lord had courage
enough to undertake the command of the Channel
Fleet--(a laugh)—for it would seem from the speech of
the noble lord, that he considered himself a
better judge of the transactions in which the Second
Division had been engaged than even Lord Rag-
lan himself. (Cries of " hear, hear.") The noble lord
overlooked the services of the Second o
Divis.lwhile
they had been distinctly recognised in the desoprantPich es of
Lord Raglan-. Certainly, the noble lord niki
ce
to the First and Second Division, but he didesoerinn
manner 'which left it to be inferred that the latter
entitled to less credit than the former. (Hear, hear,)
Was
This was in reference to the battle of the Alma ; but,
again, the noble lord, when he went on to speak of the
lesser actions of the 25th and 26th of October, he gave
all due credit and honour to the individual gallantry
which was displayed on the 25th October, but he passed
totally over the much more successful action which
took place on the succeeding day. (Hear, hear.) That
action was mentioned in such eulogistic terms in the des-
patches of Lord Raglan as to be deemed worthy of her
Majesty's high approbation, while the despatch of the
French general referred to it in no less flattering terms,
and yet the noble lord in his official statement to the
house took no sort of notice of that action. (Hear,
hear.) Again, in reference to the battle of Inkernaan
not the slightest mention is made by the noble lord o;
the gallantry displayed by the Second Division ; but
still it suffered the most, and had for an hour
at least to bear the brunt of the charge of
10,000 men. (Loud cheers.) In point of fact
the Second Division was the only one permanently
engaged in the three general actions of the Crimea, and
that Division, I think, has some reason to complain of
the omissions in the noble lord's official statement.
(bear.) I beg pardon for this unpleasant reference to
the past, but I make it not on my own account, as I feel
deeply grateful for the honour you have now done me,
but because I feel it is due to the gallant spirits whom I
have left behind me, and who
80 nobly sustained
me in the hour of trial. (Loud and prolonged cheers.)
Sir, I should like certainly to say a few words upon the
present aspect of affairs, as well as of the future strug-
gles in which we are likely to be engaged with Russia;

but I feel that this is not the proper occasion for doing so. I
(Hear.) I hope, however, that I shall have sufficient
strength and health to take advantage of some other
opportunity which may offer for that purpose ; but in
the meantime I may be allowed to say that the aspect
of the house upon the present occasion, though it is
called forth by the feeble services of the humble indivi-
dual who now addresses you, will yet have vast influence
in animating the courage and reviving the drooping
spirits of my-fellow-comrades who now compose the
army of the East. (Loud cheers.)
Lord PALMERSTON said—Sir, I rise with great
pleasure to perform an office which I am sure will receive
the unanimous and cheerful concurrence of this house.
No function which belongs to the individual who fills
the chair which you, sir, so worthily occupy can be more
agreeable or more honourable to him than the discharge
of a duty such as you have just performed, namely, that
of conveying the thanks ef Parliament to the gallant
officer and hon. member who has so nobly served his
country. I will venture to say, that never was a speaker
who had an opportunity of being more completely the
faithful organ of the feelings And opinions, not only ef this
house, but of the country and nation at large, than it
has been your good fortune to enjoy. The eloquent
and feeling expressions in whioh you have conveyed to
the hon. and gallant officer who has just sat down the
thanks of this house ought to remain a perpetual record
for the encouragement of others to pursue the same career
which my hon. and gallant friend has se nobly followed,
and for the satisfaction of those brave comrades in arms
whom he has so nobly headed in the field of battle.
(Loud cheering.) Therefore, sir, I beg leave to move
that that which has been spoken by the Speaker convey-
ing to Sir Do Lacy Evans the thanks of this house, aid
so much of the hon. gentleman's reply as referred to his
gratification and appreciation of that vote of thanks, be
printed in the ♦otes of this house from the present day.
(Hear, hear, and cheers.)
Mr. WA.LPOLE, in a few words (which were scarcely
audible in the gallery), was understood to express his
entire concurrence, not only in the vote of thanks, but
also in the motion of Lord Palmerston.

Lord PALMERSTON again rose and said—Sir, as
my hon. and gallant friend has adverted to same topics
not in immediate connection with the ♦ote which the
house has just accorded to him, I should wish to
move that so much only of the hon. and gallant gen-
tleman's reply as had reference to the vote of thanks
should be printed. (Hear, hear.)

The motion was then put by the Speaker, and ap-
proved of by the house.
FISHERIES (NORTH AMERICA.) BILL,
This bill passed through committee.
The House then a-ljourned at a quarter before five.

THE LONDON GAZETTE.

(THIS EVENING.)