The Sun.
London, England, 1855-05-19 00:00:00

ta.

ROUSE 01? LORPS-(YESTERDAYO

The LOUD CHANCELLOB took his seat on tho woolsack
at G' o'clock.

The Earl of EGLINTON presented a petition agains
the grant to IVltAynooth. _

Ttie Elrl of DERBY presented a petition against the
total abolition of church rates: -
Lori S .I.ND I'S presented a petition from Great rai-
mouth, praying for a comprehensive, measure of adminis-
trative reform.

The Marquis of LANSDOWNE presented a petition
from dissenting bodies id favour of the abolition of
church rates.

THE VIENNA CONFERENCE._
Earl GREY gave notice that he intended to postpone
the motion for which he had given notice for Monday
next until the following Friday. He did this with great
regrtt, but it was to prevent the question being debated
in both houses the same evening that he bad assented
to the postponement of his motion.

ARMY REFORM.

CONSOLIDATION OF THE CIVIL DEPARTMENTS.

Lord PANMURE, in rising, according to notice, to make
a statement of a plan for the consolidation of the civil de.
partments of the army, said—l have now, with your lord-
ships' permission, to address myself to a question, or rather
to make a statement most intimately 'connected with the
administration of the affairs of the army ; but I feel it is
impossible to refer to a military subject to-day a ithout
saying one word of congratulation in conneetien with the
scone which wo have witnessed this morning upon the
parade of the Horse Guards. (Hear.) This is the first
occasion when the Sovereign, the fountain of all honours'
in this country, has condescended to distribute those
honours, not simply to men of high birtheholding commis-
sions in the army, bdt to the humblest soldier in her ser-
vice who has shed his blood in defence of her Crown and
of the country—in defence of her honour and of the
honour of the laud which gave him birth. It must have-
been a gratifying sight to your lordships to witness so
many bravo and distinguished men receive these honours
at the hands of their Sovereign, and I trust that this will
not be a solitary instance of such a glorious scene, and
that it will have the effect-of inspiriting the youth of this
country to come forward and enter into a service in which
they, too, may distinguish themselves and receive similar
rewards to those which have been bestowed to-day. With
these few remarks, I now proceed to make the statement
of which I gave notice, in the first instance, for Monday
last. My lords, lam not sorry that the delay which has
'unavoidably arisen has taken place, although I am quite.
prepared to make that statement on Monday. The
changes which I am about to submit to your lordships are
not of a character which require the interference of any
legislative act, but I think it would be only respectful
to your lordships and the country that no material changes
should take place in the administration of the army
which are not plainly—at least as plainly as I can state
them—laid in detail before your lordships, with a full ex-
planation as to the manner in which they are to be made,
-and the effect they will produce. In dealing with this
subject, I must, in the first place, guard myself by saying
that I have no intention whatever of reflecting in the
smallest degree, either upon the official character, or upon
the official zeal and exertions of any officer connected with
that department to which it is my purpose now to allude.
I mean to deal with the system, and, if I complain of any-
thing, it is the working of the system ; it is not the officers
who have had the conduct of that system, which they could
neither alter nor amend. Nor do I propose to find fault
with mere routine. I perfectly agree with the noble earl
opposite who spoke the other night (the Earl of Derby),
that no public, no official business could be conducted in
this country without routine. A well regulated routine
advances public business as much as an ill regulated routine
rezare Is it. (Hear.) Without, therefore, a simple and well
regulate 1 routine in all our official departments, we should
have confusion instead of that simplicity which is so desir-
able, and which is one of the chief objects in the transac-
tion of all business. My objection to the system of the
Board of Ordnance is, I am afraid, not confiaed to myself
individually. During the six years in which I bad the
honour of holding the office of Secretary at War I was-
accustomed to hear such objections, and I found during
that period that the delays which occurred in the Ord-
nance Department—though no feed whatever of the
officers of the Berra or of the other officers connected with
that department—l say I fount that the inconveniences ,
which arose and the delays which occurred in that de-
partment were great obstructions in the way of the -
military administration. Every commission that has in-
quired int 'the administration of the army has made re-
marks to the same effect. Committees of the Howe of
Commons which have inquired into the arrhy and the
Ordnance administration have also come to the same
conclusion ; and yet, my lords, no Government has up
to this moment undertaken to adopt any system by which
the administration of the Ordnance Department might bo
amended or improved. It appears to me, then, that the
general opinion is that something ought to be done to sim-
plify the civil administration of the army. But a ques-
tion arises as to whether the present is a convenient time
for making any large or extensive changes in our military
administration. It has been hinted, if it has not been
broadly stated, that during a period of war changes to any
extent in the administration of a war department would
be likely to prove inconvenient and to interfere with the
conduct of the war. Now, I confess Ido not share that
opinion. It appears to me that if imprnvemeuts can be
made in any department, more especially in one connected
with military administration, there is no time when it is
so incumbent on us to make that improvement as the
period in which it may be most beneficial and effective
And, having satisfied ourselves that by the changes
which we propose, no interruption will occur in the
military service, that the supply of all the materiel of war
will continue, w.th, perhaps, more speed and more accu-
racy, while that materiel will be fully as good in quality ;
having satisfied ourselves that no difficulties will arise out
of the various changes which are proposed, her Majesty's
Government have resolved'to make those changes with as
little delay as possible. It is proposed, in the first place,
to abolish the Master-General and the Board of Ordnance,
altogether. It is quite true that the Board of Ordnance
and the office of Master-General is,' perhaps, one of the
most ancient establishments which exist in this country.
I think it dates from the time of Henry VIII., and it has
borne in the military establishment of the State a far
higher rank and distinction than of late years it has been
accustomed to hold. The Master-General and members of
the board hold their appointments by letters patent un-
der the Crown, and, therefore, no other step is necessary
than for her Majesty to dictate a revocation of those let-
ters patent, upon which the Master-General and the whole
Board of Ordnance cease to have any existence. The only
question arising out of this proposed change in which Par-
liament will be required to render assistance is to enable
the Secretary of State to hold the lands which aro at pre-
sent vested in the Board of Ordnance under an act of Par-
liament, which will be introduced shortly into the other
house. Now, the Master-General and the board being
abolished,establishment it becomes
o
wei.th
y,thoeurwlhorodle
e.
connected teti necessaryw theith t o 0
rddenal
ncaships are aware that this consists of two departments—one
relating to matters which are purely military, and the
c
other to matters of purely a civil character. The matters
which are purely military are the commands of the Royal
Artillery and of the Royal Engineers. These commands it
is proposed to vest in the Commander-in-Chief f the army.
I have never yet been able to understand why the Comman-
der-in-Chief of her Majesty's troops should not have the chief
command as well of the Artillery and Engineers as of the
cavalry and infantry. (Hear.) There can be no difficulty in
the transfer 'of the command of the Artillery anti Engi-
neers to the Commander-in-Chief, bac ruse in the Artillery
there is a Deputy Adjutant-General and an Assistent-Quar-
ter-Master-General, entirely and exclusively belonging to
that force, who can conduct the military administration of
that branch of the service under the Commander-in-Chief,
exactly in the same manner as it was conducted by the Mas-
ter-General of the Ordnance. In the same way, there is a
Deputy Adj utan t-Generalof Engineera who, communicating
with the Commander-in-Chief, would convey his orders to
that -corps precisely as he now conveys to it the orders of
the Master-General., It would be wrong in me if I omitted
this opportunity, in dealing with the military members of
the Ordnance, of stating to your lordships that it is the con-
current opinion of every officer as u ell as of every member of
her Majesty's Government, and of other Governments who
have had to-do with Sir Hew Ross and Sir J. Burgoyne in
their military capacity, that two officers more meritorious on
account of their scientific knowledge, and who have taken
greater pains to bring to perfectionthese branchesof the ser-
vice over which they have presided, never bore her Ma-
jesty's
commission. The manner in which the artillery
was forwarded to the seat of war conferred upon Sir Hew
Ross the highest possible character, and stamped him as
an officer of artillery of rare and uncommon merit. We
manner, also, in which Sir John Burgoyone has conducted
operations as chief of the engineer department is equally
well worthy of my humble testimony, and of the approba-
tion of your lordships anti of the country. My lords, I
have felt that I could not touch upon this branch of the
subject without making references to the services of these
two distinguished officers, who have been the means of
bringing the artillery and engineer departments of the army
to their preeent state of perfection ; but now I will pass
to the civil branch of the Ordnance Department. The civil
branch of that departments consists, as your lordships are
aware, of the Master-General of the Ordnance, who is not
a member of the board, but who is supreme over the
whole department, and who can approve or disapprove the
actions of the board ; he can also order the expenditure
of any money to carry on the business of the department,
Lord renewed upon the Raglan, to assume
but all financial measures which he may order must be
carried out by officers of the board. The next member is
the ' Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance, an office which
the
m abolished,asteandGen
Master-General,
al, L
as onol
the command of the army in the field ; and then come the
Surveyor-General, the Clerk of the Ordnance, and the
principal storekeeper. Thee four officers furor the Board
of Ordnance, and I will now proceed to state to your lord-
shipsdweaps formerlyrt u departure o f
what are the duties which there officers are called
upon to perform. The duties of the Master-General, as
stated in the report of a select committee, are, in a civil
capacity, to take entire control over the whole departaient.
He has the power of doing any act on. hie own authority,
and can order the expenditure of money for the purpose
of the department, bat That expenditure must be carried
out by the officers of the board,. The Lieutenant-Ge•
neral, at a time when the Master-General is present in
this country, has no active office, but in his absence he
presides generally over the whole business of the board.
The Clerk of the Ordnance is the financial member of the
board, and it is his duty to prepare the estimates cf the.
money required for the service of the department, and to lay
them before Parliament, and generally to control and super-
intend the expenditure of the whole department. The prin-
cipal storekeeper, as his title implies, has the care of the
immense military stores of this country, of all the ordnance
carriages, arms, and ainunition, and, in fact, he appears to
me to be the officer of the greatest importance attached to
the Board of Ordnance. These are the superior officersatP re-
sent constituting the Board of Ordnance. Now, my lords, it
is proposed, to abolish as I have stated, that boardaltogeth'er,
and this is the arrangement which we propose to adopt.
We propose that the Secretary of State for War shall have
the supremodirection of and be responsible for the adminis-
tration of all the business of the department'. We propose to
place under the Secretary of State, for the purposeofcaY re ince
out his emetic and instruction, a chief civil officer The diitie;
of that officer will be to receive all orders with respect to the
civil administration of the army from the Secretary of
State' to convey those orders to the heads of the differetib
branches, and to apportion them among the members of the
Administration. It is further proposed that this officer
shell be a member of the house of Commons, that he shall
then be responsible fur all returns relating to the civil ad-
ministrative of the army, and that it shall be his duty to move
iu one combined estimate the whole expenditure of the