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

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

MR. ROEBUCK'S RESOLUTION.
• (Prom the Times of this day.)
The new Government has brought out its budget of mea-
sures without loss of time. That is praiseworthy ; but it was
also a matter of necessity, seeing that it had either to con-
cede or to refuse an inquiry whin the majority of its mem- '
hers had already refused, but the refusal of which had proved
fatal to their Administration. The new measures, brought
out with such promptitude, on the spur of the moment, by
men who before were doing nothing at all but refusing in-
qr
uiry,
givenea ,tehgeomr y ar
st
n.
igiTithebye
aeixepeiciatieftiferoamsurteshe,
look at first sight miscellaneous enough. They fall,
however,s
crisis
w hieuhn(hlae
temporising measures, ambiguous measures, that may mean
much or little, according to circumstances. We will venture
to say that if any man in a scrape as regards his business, or
other private affairs, Made a number of such promises or
such replies in a breath, so to speak, and all having the same
equivocal look, he would be simply set down as shuffling,
evading the difficulty, and trying to gain time, so little would
his conduct savour of .honest intention. When Government
ought to know what to do, and ought to be prepared to take
the responsibility on itself, it sets about asking a multitude
of questions, and creating a new class of scapegoats, for the
purpose of discharging upon them its own responsibility. If
Lord Palmerston bad really done what Richard 11. did—
that is, had ho taken the lead of the Commons by either
instituting- a general and immediate inquiry, or adopt-
ing decisive and energetic measures—he might, by either
course, have taken the wind out of the sails of
Parliamentary agitation. He has simply created a new
element of doubt and obscurity, a new haze, a new cloud of
dust, about a state of things which already was a darkness
that might be felt. In such a situation it is necessary to
adopt the simplest possible tests, and we are indebted to Mr.
Layard for the suggestion of the test that most directly ap-
plies. It is the test of working. How will it work ? Follow
Lord Panmure's Commissioners with your mind's eye ' - be
their companion on their voyage, -arrive with them at the
camp, sit by them as they come face to face With the subjects
of their inquiry ; and then you may form some opinion as to
the almost inevitable result of a course which aims at doing
great things, and cutting the knot that has destroyed a British
army, without cost, without pain, without effort, withoutany
positive line of action—as if any great work ever was done
without cost, or pain, or effort, or positive line of action.
General Simpson is to arrive at Head-quarters in the fol-
lowing multifarious capacity :—He is to be Chief of the Staff
—a new office-in our army—and as such he will have to be
the medium of communication between Lord Raglan and his
Staff, in particular between the Quartermaster-General and Ad-
jutant-General. He will have to convey Lord Raglan's orders,
to see'they are executed, and.report how they are executed.
He will have to inquire, generally into the way in which the
duties of the Staff are discharged, to report there-
upon to the Secretary for War, to show the
report to Lord Raglan in order to give him an oppor-
tunity of anticipating the authorities at home, and to
tender advice for the-same purpose,,which.advice Lord Rag-
lan, "no doubt," will receive. Placed thus between all,
and over all, General Simpson presents hin4elf at Lord Rag-
lan's residence. lie will be invited at once to partake of his
lordship's hospitalities. ' Will he partake of them ? Will he
dine day after day with Lord Raglan and the Staff—that is,
with the two parties between whom he is to be the only offi-
cial -channel of communication? Finding them all in a full
and close 'communication of near a twelvemonth's standing,
how will he'substitute for that long intimacy an official com-
munication, himself the only channel ? Will he exchange
compliments and be on the best of terms with his host, or his
guests, as may be, or retire each day from the dinner-table to
write horns his unreserved. opinion of his agrecablefriends
and their measures ? Should he assume the old Roman, be
distant, inquire, report, and, advise with authority, where
will Lord Raglan be, and how little will his lordship have
reason to thank Lords Palmerston and Panmure for their
delicacy in leaving him the empty semblance of command ?
IS he to inquire in company with the Staff, or to refuse the
cup of Comus, break from the Magic circle, and, as Mr. Lay-
ard advises, go about the camp listening to the sorrows of the
regimental officers ? How will the Staff endure to see her Ma-
jesty's " own correspondent" roving about the camp, giving a
ready ear to the disaffected, diving into the mystery of ex-
tinct regiments, and struggling in vain to conceal his sym-
pathy with the neglected, and his disgust at the folly
and insolence of those in command ? With , Mr. Layard, we
must say that we want, not a commission, but a man. A man
may be in time for the great battle believed to be at hand ; a
commission can scarcely be. If General Simpson is the man
ho is said to be, if he is such a man as Lord Ellenborough
would not hesitate to intrust with the command of the
Indian army at a great crisis, send after him a commission
investing him with the command which it is confessed by
his present errand that Lord Raglan is not equal to.
Sir John M'Neill's difficulties will be physical rather than
social. From all accounts, in a few weeks Balaklava, the •
head-quarters of the Commissariat, will be the most pestilen-
tial hole on the face of the earth. The bodies of many thou-
sand Christians, Turks, and horses, and all kinds of unimagi-
nable filth, will then begin to fester and simmer on the hill
side, the meadow, the mud, and the salt water. A new mor-
tality will arise, and surrounded by fighting outside the town
and confusion within, a valetudinarian officer,, disabled for
ordinary employment in his own climate, is to gl about every-
where, seeing all kinds of people, examining stores, enforcing
orders, bidding the light to shine out of darkness, and teach-
ing the Commissariat mind, at the same time formal and rude,
the difference between the " letter that killeth and the spirit
that giveth life." If Sir John does not lose his life in this
employment, he will,; as W. -Layard 'says, lose his well-earned
i'spuiation, simply beenuse ho will be held responsible for re-
forming the Commissariat, and the Commissariat too probably
will not be reformed, unless by some more youthful
and vigorous hand. So far, indeed, as conceals tho conduct
of the army, the time does not admit of more inquiry. We
have to deal with two evils —a bad system and incapable offi-
cers. The first demands. inquiry with a view to reform ; the
second calls for summary. measures. The course actually
adopted by the new Government is aimed at both these evils,
and is likely to hit neither. Voltaire mentions a council of
War that met the day after a great defeat to inquire how it
happened. That might be a very proper subject for imptiry
at home, as in our case, but it was a very futile proceeding on
the part of general officers who had to-morrow to think of,
and,to secure themselves from further defeats. In fact, we
know the past of the Crimea too well ; it is the present and
the future we do not know. Nobody can guess what state of
affairs these hybrid Commissioners will find on their arrival,
or whether they will be able to enter the harbour of Balaklava
at all. At the last date the British army was reduced to
10,500 bayonets, newly organised, in a new position, and
with altogether a different work to perform in the siege, viz.,
the duty of a covering army, or to complete the investment
of Sebastopol on the side of the Tchernaya. Yet this remnant
having shiftect its position, and become the mere contingent
of a larger army, in the proportion of about one to ten,-if so
much, is to be mocked with the arrival of commissions of in •
quirt', to rake up the past, to retrace the dismal steps of its
downfall, and, perhaps, to report to the authorities at home
how matters might have been managed better, and how a
fraction of the remainder may be saved, if the proper mea-
sures be taken in time. •

PARLIAMENTARY DIVISION.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—Fss. 19.
EAST AND WEST INDIA DOCK BILL

Order for second reading read; motion made and question
proposed, " That the bill be now read a second time." Amend-
ment proposed to leave out the word " now," and at the end
of the question to add the words " upon this day six months."
Question put, " That the word now' stand part of the ques-
tion." The house divided—ayes 26, noes 249.
- -

AYES.-23. ,
Bouverie, Hon. E. P. Hiatt., Archd. Sm'th, Abel
Bramston. T. W. Lindsay, W. Thornely, T.'
Browne, W. Mac! te, J. Walcott, Admiral
Compton, H. C. Macgregor, Jas. Wigram, Loftus T.
Cabitt, W. Michell, Dr. W. Willcox, B.
Dundas, G. Wewdegate, C. Woodd, B.
Ferguson, Sir It. Peicocke, G.
Freshtleld, J. Robertson, P. TELLERS.
Glyn, G. Scrope, G. Baring, T.
Grenfell, Chas. Seymour, H. Gregson, S.

NOES-249.
Acton, J. French, F. Mowbray. J.
Adair, R. Fuller, A
Alcock, T. Gaiwey, Sir W. iftllgrare, Earl of
Mullings, J.
Anderson, Sir I. Gardner, H. Munly, W.
Anne)ley. Earl of Gaskell, J. Mintz, G.
Arbutimott, Gen. George, J. Murrough, I.
Baines. Rt. Hon. M. Gibson, T Naas, Lord
Baird, J. Gladstone, W. Noel, G.
Ball, E. Goddard, A. North, F.
Baring, H. Goderich, Via. 0 borne, R. •
Baring. Sir F. Gower, F. Ot way, A.
Barrow, W. Graham, Sir J. Packe, C
Bass. T. Greaves, E. Paget, Lord A.
Beamtsh, F. Green, Capt John Pakenham,T. IL
Bell, J. Greene, Thomas Palmer, Robert
Bennet, Capt P. Greville, Col. F. Palmerston, Visct.
Bentlnck, G. Grey, R. Pexton, Sir J.
Beresford, Rt. Hn. W. Grogan, Edward Peel, F.
Berkeley, Admiral Grosvenor, Ld. N. rallatt, A.
Berkeley, Hon. H Guinness, R. Percy, J.
Berkeley, C. Gwyn, H. Perry, Sir T.
Berkeley, G. Hadfield, G. Phillimore, 3. G.
Biggs, W. Hall, Sir B. Phillimbrs, R. J.
Bland, L. IL Hanbury,Capt.Hon.C.Phinn, T.
Boldero, Col. H. G. Hankey, T. Pilkington, J.
Bonham-Carter, J. Hamner, Sir J. Pinney, W.
Brady, J. Hestia. Alex. Powlett, Lord W.
Bramley-Moore, J. Hayter, W. Reed, J.
Brocklehurat J. Headiatn, T. Iticarelo, 0.
Bruce, H. A. Heathcoate, J. "Rice, E.
Buakley, Gen. HeneaSe. Geo. H. Rich, H.
Butt, G. Henley, J. Roebuck, J.
Cardwell, E. Herbert, Sir T. Ru,hout, Col. G.
Challis T. lierVeY, Lord A. Russell, F. C.
Cheetham, John Hovwood, J. Russell, F. W.
Chelsea, Viscount Horsfall. T. Sadleir, John
Cholmondeley, Lord Hotham, Lord Sandars, G.
Clay. Sir W., Bt. Hume. W. Scott, F.
Cobbett, J. M. Ingham,R. Strtily, F.
Cobden. R. Irton. S. Neymour, W. D.
Cocks, T. S. Johnstone, Sir J. mai ,o, B.
Cogan, W. H. F. Jones, Capt. T. Shelburne, Earl
Coles, H. B. Keating, It. Shelley, Sir J.
Jollier, R. P. Keating, H. Shirley, E.
Coote, Sir ci. H. Kendall, N. Smijth, Sir W.
Corry, H. T. L. Kennedy, T. Smith, J. A.
Cowper, W. F. King, P. ' Smith, J. B.
Craufard. E. ILI. Kinnaird. A. Smith, W.
Currie, Raikes Knatchball, W. &Aileron, T.
Davies, D. A. S. Knightley, R. Spooner, R.
needes, W. Knox, Col. B. W. Stanley. Lord
Denison, J. E. Labouchere,Rt.Hon.ll Steel, J.
Hering, Sir E. Laing. S. Strut t, E.
De Vete. S. Lant.ton, W. Stuart, W.
Disraeli. B. Dun ton, IL G. o Tmlin°, G.
Drummond, H. Laurie, J. VP.IIC,, .7.
Duff, G. . Layar4, A. 11. Verner, Sir W.
Durt, J. Lee, W. Vernon, G.
Duncan, Viscount Lewis, Sir G. C. V.llier,, (.1.
Duncan G. Ltdd.ll,ll. tl. Villiers, F.
Duncombe, lion. A. Liddell. 11. T. Vyvyan, Sir R.
Duncombe, 0. Locke. J. Vyso, Col.
Duncombe, Hon.W. Lockhart, A. E. Waddington, D. -
Dunlop, A. Lwhin ;ton, n. Wabnsley, Sir J.
Did Pre. C. Lytton, Sir G. Walpole, S.
Ebrington, Viscount MacArtncy, G. Warner, E.
Egerton, E. Mackinnon, W. A. W:. ter park, Lord
Mire, B. II tcgrevr, John Watson, W.
Elliot, J. Macguire, J. Whitman, J.
Emlyn, Vis. M dins, R. Whitbread, S.
Ewart, W. Mandeville, Vis. Wickham, 11. W.
F,tgan, W. Massey. W. . Wilkinson, W.
Ferrer, J. Masterrnan, J. 33 ise. A.
Fenwick, IT. Miall, E. . Wortley, J. S.. 7'
Ferguson, J. Milligan, R. Wrightson, W.
Fitzgerald. W. Milner, W. 'Wyndham. Gen.
Foley, J. Milnes, R. Wynn. Lieut.-Col.
Forester, Cul. • Mitchell, T. Wyvill, M.
i Forster, C. Molesworth, Sir W. Young, Sir J.
Forster, J. Montgomery, Sit G.
Fortescue, C. Morgan, 0.
Fox, W. Morris, D.
' Franklyn, G. Mowatt, F.

TELLERS
Duke, Sir J.
Williams, W.