The Sun.
London, England, 1855-02-09 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 9,_1886.

their ultimate success. He (Mr. Vernon Harcourt) merely II
wished to observe that the statements in circulation were not
borne out by many of the letters which ho had seen.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER.—After what
has been stated so well by my noble friend behind me with
respect to the explanation of the apparent discrepancy be-
tween my statements and the statements in the public journals,
I now deem it almost unnecessary to address one word to the
house, except for the specific imputation on my statement.
My noble friend pointed out the differences in the mode of
estimating the force of the army, which nearly accounts for
the whole of the apparent difference between the two state-
ments made to the house. Not only are the Officers excluded,
but all descriptions of soldiers, except the infantry, but a
considerable portion of the rank and filo were excluded, be-
cause habitually employed from day to day in non-military
duties. But it is especially needful that I should contradict
the statement of the hon. member for Inverness, who says
that in the 28,000 men at Sebastopol were included the
force of the Turks and the wounded and sick. There was
not included a single sick or wounded, or Turk, or other
person, except a British soldier, in the calculation when I
said that 28,000 were engaged in the discharge of military
duty before Sebastopol. That statement was strictly true ten
days ago ; but what amount of variation and changes may
have arisen during those ten days, I will not enlarge upon,
or speak of, without more certain information. I have no
reason, however, to suppose that there has been any material
alteration. I cannot wonder, however, at statements of this
kind being made in this house ; nor can I venture to com-
plain, seeing that the tide of public feeling runs so strong on
behalf of those who justly have all our sympathies, nor can
I feel surprise that anxiety so intensely felt for their suffer-
ings and privations—and he would be more or less than man
who did not so feel—should find, or make for itself irregular
channels of complaint. Ido not presume to intend to read
a lecture, or to complain of any one ; but I would be-
seech hon. gentlemen to place as much restraint as possible
on their feelings. No one can possibly think of charging the
hon. and learned gentleman the member for Weymouth (Mr.
Butt), in being actuated by a spirit of party. No man in
this house is capable, I am sure, of any such thing ; but when
the hon. and learned gentleman says that he hears from pri-
vate accounts that a great disaster is at hand—
Mr. BUTT—I read it in a newspaper to-day.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—That is founded
on private grounds. The hon. and learned gentleman states
this not on his own opinion, but then it goes forth to the
public as his opinion. (Hear.) Whatever is spoken in the
House of Commons gains strength from the careless and pro-
miscuous reader, and whatever is spoken here is supposed by
them to convey with it the views of the House of Commons,
thus becOmming productive of great practical mischief. I
would ask hon. gentlemen, therefore to use as much caution
as possible, and to place as much restraint as they can on
those feelings which they must naturally entertain for the fate
of the army, before they give currency to statements on pri-
vate authority. It was perfectly natural and right for the
hon. member to ask Government for information, and there
can be no more useful and less dangerous, method of proceed-
ing than for hon. gentlemen to apply for information to official
sources.

SHARE MARKETS.

(THIS DAY.)

Paid.

Leasing
Compana.l

losing Prices
yeitcrlay.

Esusiresa
this day.

RAILWAYS.

RAILWAY?.

Closing Prices
yesterday.

&nine., dons
this day.

Mr. G. DUNDAS said he had received a letter from an
officer in the Second Division of the army in the camp, dated
the 24th December, in which he stated that the four battalions,
which numbered on paper 2,714 only returned 1,200 rank and
file, including servants, fit for duty, and available to go into
action or the trenches. Some of the men were at Scutari,
others had gone home—numbers were in attendance on the
sick—but many of those soldiers would, in a shoit time, be able
to return to their regiments. Ho did not take so desponding
a view of affairs as some gentlemen. True, matters had beou
very bad. When he was at the seat of war, the men suffered
from exposure to the cold, and from the want of proper cloth-
ing, but since then they have received supplies ; and since
the 31st December large quantities of clothing were sent up
to the camp. If the men were properly clothed they would
have no difficulty in resisting exposure. But one of the great
drawbacks experienced by the men was the want of fuel. The
men could not cook their provisions for want of fuel. He had
heard at Malta that a private company, Price's Patent Candle
Company, had submitted to the Secretary at War an effica-
cious furnace, which, by the help of an expenditure of six
pbunds of patent composition, would not only enable the sol-
dier to cook, but would keep his tent warm. From the want
of fuel the men were obliged to eat their rations raw, and on
a piece of raw pork it could not be expected that the soldiers
would be able to do their work, Of ultimate success in the
Crimea he had no doubt whatever. For when two such coun-
tries as Franco and England combined nothing could possibly
stop them. The business, he admitted, would be a work of
time, and would cause much loss of blood. But as the noble
lord had said, that forty years' neglect of war on our part had
almost made the art of war cease to be a science. In the art
of war, none of those advances and improvements which had
taken place in ether arts, by which they bad arrived at such
a pitch of perfection, had been made. More lives had been
lost, he was informed, by the bursting of our cannon than by
the shot of the enemy. Ho trusted, however, that the indi-
vidual energy and the mechanical skill of the nation would be
exercised to remedy existing differences. He would go further
into the matter at a future time. He was desirous of telling
the he'll,: what he bad seen, and any information he had been
able to lek up ho was ready to communicate to those who
might be desirous of obtaining information. (Hear, bear.)
Mr. JAMES MACGREGCR,said it was right it should go
to the country that every vote of money for carrying on the
war had passed that house without the slightest opposition.
The house adjourned at half-past six o'clock.

REPRESENTATION OF SOUTH WILTS.

The following is the address of the new Secretary of
State, the Right Hon. S. Herbert :

"TO THE RLEcroas F,)11 THE SOUTHERN DIVISION OF

THE COUNTY- OF WILTS.

Gentlemen,— Lord Palmerston has been called npon
by her Majesty, in a great public emergency, to 'form an
Adminietrat lea. _ _

•` I have felt it my duty to accede to the proposal he has
made to me to become a member of his Government.
" I believe that the Government which he has con-
structed is determined to use every effort for the active
prosecution of the war in which we aro engaged, and for
the attainment of that durable and honourablo peace which
it is the object of the war to secure.
" Being appointed ono of her Majesty's Secretaries of
State, my seat in Parliament is vacated, and I venture
again to offer you my services as your representative in
Parliament.

" It is fur you to say whether my past conduct has been
such as to justify my again seeking this trust at your
hands.—l have the honour to be, gentlemen, yourfaithful
and obedient servant, " SIDNEY HERBERT.
" London, Feb. 7."
There is not the slightest doubt of the return of the
right hon. gentleman without opposition.