The Sun.
London, England, 1855-03-24 00:00:00

sum which they spoke of advancing they would obtain
from Persia an army of 40,000 men. He begged that the
Government would take the subject to which his observa-
tions had referred into their consideration. (Hear.)
Sir S. NORTCOTE said it was impossible not to see
that immense exertions had been made by the Govern-
ment and by the country to carry on the war, and that, in
spite of those exertions, there existed a great and growing
dissatisfaction at the failures which had taken place. Many
of those failures would have excited much loss attention if
it had not been that the people iu this country were in the
habit of meeting small adventures which had given an un-
favourable impression of the state of the public ser dee.
He wished to impress on the Government the necessity of
losing no time in introducing such improvements into the
civil service as would secure for it a bettor name than it
at present enjoyed. He believed that the civil service
possessed immense merits, and contained men willing to
perform any amount of work thrown upon them, but
there were defects in the organisation of that service
which rendered the services of those men loss valuable
than they ought to be. There were in many depart-
ments a considerable number of men receiving salaries
varying in amount from 801. to 300/. a year who were
not worth their salt, while there were others
doing an enormous amount of work. The Goverment ought
to make such a distribution of the work as would enable
them to employ educated men upon work suited to the
education which they had received. By so doing they
would not only eflect a saving of labour, but would attract
to the public service men of a superior order. (Eleer.)
Captain SCOBELL said that within the last four years
there had been four First Lords of the Admiralty and as
many Secretaries, and it could not be expected that a board
could work well when it was subjected to so many changes.
It was a matter of astonishment to him that the transports
in the Black Sea had not cart ied over snore French troops.
If those transports had been properly used they V, ould have
donedouble the work which they had performed. The great
error in the transport service had been the want of a super-
intendent to stow away the different articles and give a pro-
per account of them. Many vessels had gone to Belakleva
and sailed from that place with things on board which were
required by our troops. But the greatest defect was that
the steamers for the conveyance of the sick were not fitted
up for the purpose. He trusted that the Transport Board
would take greater care for the future, and that some man
would be placed at the head of it with sufficient power to
decide and give orders as to what ought to be done.
Mr. CAYLEY said that last year the estimate for the
transport service amounted to something like 2,600,000/.,
and now about 4,000,0001. more was required. The estimate
wesone of a most profuse nature, considering the mode in
which the transport service had been carried on. For the
estimate of 2,600,0001. the total tonnage employed, inde-
pendent of coal, was 95,000; mad the coal tonnage amounted
to 158,754. Now, the rate of tonnage was not more than
from 21. to 3/. Indeed for the last seven mouths the rate
of freight to Australia had been only 2/. ss. There was a
great want of responsibility with regard to the transport
service. Now, as that service was under the control of the
Admiralty, he thought the right hon. baronet (Sir James
Graham) was the party really responsible. Again, with
regard to the coaling department of the transport service,
nothing could have been more disgracefully mismanaged.
At Constantinople transports had to wait for days and
weeks without being able to get their necessary supplies of
fuel, while, when they did succeed in getting them, the
cost was so high that it was perfectly astounding. For in-
stance, coal, which could easily have been procured for 4/. a
ton, was charged 71. or 81. per ton, and there were other
charges incidental to the coaling of an equally extravagant
nature. Allied to the defects and shortcomings of the trans-
port service was the want of land transport. Here again
was to be traced the evils of mismanagement ; horses dying
from the want of medicines or forage, which could easily
have been procured bat for the stupidity of obstinate offi-
cials in high command, and our gallant soldierssuffering the
most excruciating agony from the want of that medicial as-
, sistanoe which was at hand on the coast of the Crimea, but
could not reach the spot where suffering called for it for the
want of a proper land transport. Many of these abuses
would have remained undiscovered had it not been for the
vigilance of the gentlemen who represented the press at
the seat of war; indeed, he believed that, but for their ex-
posures, the whole army would have been left to perish of
want, neglect, and privation ; but after all he had now
stated- -after the immense sums which had been spent upon
the transport service—after the admitted fact that a third
of that expenditure at least might have been saved by judi-
cious management, he did hope those gentlemen who took
an interest in the public expenditure—whose absence he
regretted to observe then—would take an early opportunity
of contrasting their gigantic expenditure upon the traps-
pert service with that of our gallant allies the French. The
people of the country did not grudge a single shilling.
They desired to carry on the war to a successful issue, but
they wanted their money's worth. He did not think they
got their money's worth. The system pursued by the late-
Government in sending out the expedition into the Black
Sea was one of ruinous extravagance. If the affairs of the
public had been carried on as a private firm conducted
theirs, it was quite evident that the o, erations of the war
would have been conducted at a much less expense. He
had heard that the feeding of the men cost 11. a day,
whilst the firm of Baines and Co., of Liverpool, had offered
to do so at 3s. 6d. a head per day ; and he thought that
Government had done wrong to reject this offer. If
Government had conducted this department in an exem-
plary manner, it would have been a different question.
Had it never occurred to the First Lord of the Admiralty
that as the navy for 50 years had been supplied with limo
juice, it was expedient to supply the army in such circum-
stances with a supply of limo juice also. Messrs. Baines
said they should require foul steamers of 1,200 tons, he
believed, to supply the whole of the army with their sup-
plies, and four more steamers, as he understood, for the
supply of fresh meat. Under this view he thought that
the house could not but ask, what was all this enormous
tonnage required for ? To close the case of the transports,
Mr. Green said that during the time the Resolute was
in the service of Government she was three months in
port and two months at, sea. He complained also that in
all the operations of the war nothing was done in time.
Government seemed to be moving by mechanical action,
by which what was gained in rapi lity was lost in power.
In another caso, the transports went out without any
moans of embarking guns or cavalry. Mr. Roberts, a mas-
ter, invented, at his own expense, a most ad mirabhe
method for doing this. He was a master only. (Question.)
Did the hon. member know that the question was the ad-
ministration of this service ? A batter officer could not
be; but whether he had his promotion, he did not know.
In his case, promotion perhaps was not an advantage,
and ho took the opportunity to protest against this nominal
promotion, which left a man in a worse position than ho
was before. He thanked the hon. member who had brought
forward the motion for having done so, and he thought
that the misfortunes of the army in the Crimea were prin-
cipally owing to the transport service. He trusted that
the Government of the noble lord would take warning by
their predecessors, and would insist upon the duties of
every department being carried on in a more efficient man-
ner than had hitherto been the case. It would be some-
thing in favour of the war if out of the present chaos, the
result of official incompetence, official incapacity, and
drivelling formalism, there should arise a system of effi-
ciency order, and vigour—something which would, when
it was required, stand the test of examination and of ac-
tion—something more than a solemn sham and a gigantic
imposture.
Mr. BENTINCK said that the right hon. baronet the mem-
ber for Carlisle seemed to suppose that in forming a Trans-
port Board for the purpose of effecting a division of
labour, it was also necessary to create a division of re-
sponsibility. Now, ho thought no such alternative ex-
isted, for responsibility might have been maintained
although the labour was divided. So long as they
continued this system of divided responsibility, so long
would they have the duties of the service inefficiently
performed. He was glad to have heard it stated in
the course of that debate that administrative reforms
were contemplated; he trusted that amongst those re-
forms they would have to reckon the discontinuance of
that system which had existed in this country from time
immemorial—namely, that of placing civilians at the heed
of the naval and military departments. (Hear, hear.)
They might rely on it so long as that system was main-
tained that the duties of neither one or the other would be
efficiently conducted. He cared not how great might be
the administrative ability of any individual, if ho was not
thoroughly conversant with all the details of the profes-
sion in which he was appointed to preside—whether it -was
from his habits, his education, or his pursuits; all his efforts
on behalf of the service must prove ab ortive. The system
was to place men at the head of the army who were not
capable of managing a corporal's guard, and at the head of
the navy persons incapable of taking charge of a coaster.
He could mention the following case as illustrative of the
position which he had assumed; and ho would do so the
more readily as he saw the right hon. baronet the member
for Carlisle in his place. It would be in the recollection of
the house that upon a former occasion, when the right hon.
baronet the late First Lord of the Admiralty having replied
to a question which had been put to him—and he (Mr. Ben-
thick) would direct particular attention to the fact that the
statement was volunteered, and showed that the right hon.
baronet considered the fact of importance—well,laving so
replied to the question put to him, the right hon. baronet
proceeded to say that he would take that opportunity of
adverting to certain rumours that were in circulation rela-
tive to the loss of the Prince transport, outside the harbour
of Belaklava. He then referred to certain reports in the
newspapers, to the effect that the Prince had been lost in
consequence of her chains not having been properly
clinched ; whereupon he informed the house that the chains
of the Prince had been properly clinched, and that the loss
of that vessel could not be attributed, therefore, to no such
cause. Well, having taken a great deal of interest id the
matter, he confessed at the time he was not a little sur-
prised at such a statement coming from the right hon. baro-
net ; still he hesitated, not feeling himself fully informed,
to slake notice of it. Bence, only a very few days ago,
he happened to obtain possession of a document which
confirmed in the fullest manner the impressiOn which he
entertained at that time. It would appear that so far from
the facts being as stated by the right hon. baronet, he was
himself completely misinformed upon the subject. He
held in his hand a description,, a sketch of the manner in
which the chain cables of the Prince were clinched, which
he would be most happy to place in the hands of the right
hon. baronet or any other member, and it would convince
them that the chains were clinched in so imperfect a
manner as to account for the loss of the vessel and of
her anchors. And in corroboration of that fact it was
stated that the Perseverance—a vessel which had been
performing lately certain rather curious gyrations in Wool-
wich Dockyard—had her chain clinched iu a similar
manner to the Prince ; but on the news of the disaster
relative to the transport reaching this country, the atten-
tion of the authorities was directed to that fact, and the
chains were clinched in an efficient manner. Now he need
not remind the house that the right hon. baronet had had
the most ample means of obtaining information upon this
subject; however, naturally taking the report drawn up
for him as correct, he made no further inquiries. But if
the right hon. gentleman had been a professional man ho
would have asked one more question, and which would
have relieved him from the necessity of making such
a statement to the House of Commons—he would have
said, " Show me how these chains are clinched." Now
that, perhaps, might be a trifling instance of the conse-
quences of their system ; still, trifling as it was, it showed
that even if a man were as distinguished for his talents as
the right hon. baronet, it was impossible for him to con-
duct the affairs of a service with which be could not, by'
any possibility, be conversant. As ho had said, therefore,
he hoped that when this milennium was come, about the
first of these administrative reforms would be made in this
direction. But he also understood the right hon. baronet
to have dissented from some statements with respect to
a cargo of boots and shoes. Now, although be was unable
to contradict the right hon. baronet, he might men-
tion another case of mismanagement, which did go
to prove that such an occurrence was by no means impos-
sible. The Kangaroo, transport, had started from Yarns
for Eupatoria with the rest of the fleet, a portion of the
Coldstream Guards being on board. When the troops
landed at Eapatoria the Kangaroo was ordered round to
Balaklava with the knapsacks of the regiment. Well, she
proceeded to Balaklava, Ant from thence she was des-
patched upon some other irr, without the knamoka hdrv. ,