The Sun.
London, England, 1855-04-13 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY, EITNING, APRIL 13; 1855.

SPIRIT 01! THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

(From the Times of this day.)

The clear, though elaborate statement of the military
opetatious of the allied armies in the East, which has been
published by the French Government le the Moniteur,
will be read in all parts of theworli with intense interest,
for the .Emp.?ror of the French pays a not undeserved
homage to the force and justice of public opinion, by sub-
mitting the whole course of a campaign and an expedition
not yet concluded to the criticism of France, to the know-
ledge of our adversary, and to the judgment of foreign na-
tions. We confess that we ourselves have perused this re-
markable document with-a degree of satisfaction, which is
increased by the unexpected discovery that the strategical
opinion's expressed in this journal from the commencement
of these!operations' are identical in every point, save one,
with the views entertained by the French Government
and its' military advisers. In attempting to defend those
opinions by such arguments As our own knowledge of the
theatre of operations and of tho art of war enabled us to
euggeste we certainly were quite unconscious that the very
same points were those on which the Cabinet of the Tuile-
ries relied for the success of the expedition ; but, although,
as is apt to be the case in the conduct of military affairs,
many unforeseen difficulties have arisen, and the result has
not yet been equal to our sacrifices and our expectations,
we remain unshaken in our conviction that the main
strategical movements of the last campaign were perfectly
sound, and that, in fact, no others could reasonably have
been attempted. .
Our readers may remember that considerably before th e
declaration of war, and when our fleets had gone up to
Beycos Bay, in the winter of 1853-4, wecontinually dwelt
upon the importance of the Thracian Chersonesus as tb e
base of our position for the defence of Constantinople and
of Routuelia; which was then the primacy object of our
intervention. The instructions of the Emperor of the
French to Marshal St. Arnaud, bearing date the 12th April,
1854, exactly one year ago, aro directed in the first in-
stance to this point. Gallipoli was the base of operations,
'bocau'e, in the event of the defeat of the Turks on the
Danube, and the passage of the' Balkan by a Russian 'army,
that force would have been outflanked by the allied troops
in tilita,ce, and its march on the capital become inipossible..
At the same time, the possession of the Dardanelles secured
our maritime communiCatrons; which might otherwise
have been threatened by the enemy: 'Those preparations:
were purely defensive, but our position in the war was still.`
rif a defensive Character. The force originally; sent out. t
consisted of about 40,000Fronch and 20,000 British troops,
and the operations ..contemplated at thatlime were regu
kited by the necessity of the ease and by the strength of
that army. 'We -therefore hold, as the French statement
very ably maintains, that the occupation of Gallipoli- was
a wise and correct determination on the part Of the allies
under what were -the known and anticipated circum-
stances against which they had to provide. ,
But before the month of May was past these circum-
stances had materially changed. The Russian army had
crossed the Danube, occupied the Dobrudscha, and threa-
tened the line of the Balkan. The success of this move-
ment, however, depended on the capture of Silistria ; and
the gallant defence of that place, followed by the defensive
treaty of the 13th of June between Austria and the Porte,
turned the fortune of war. The allied 'fortes had mean-
while advanced to -Varna' where they were ready to assist-
in the defence of the Balkan, had the Russians taken Si-
listria and continued their advance. But the Emperor of
the French had expressed in the strongest terms his resolu-
tion to avoid a march upon the Danube, and to abstain
from an expedition into the Danubian provinces, which
could only have produced the most fatal results. If
Our memory' serves us, rather less than ten months
have elapsed since the British:;' Ministers and those
who shared their opinions were exppsed to a storm of oblo-
,4uy 'because they steadily resisted the appeals made to
them to throw our forces into this perilous and desperate
situation.
It was, felt, however, that the Allied Governments,
having entered upon this war, could not allow their arma-
ments to remain inactive, or neglect any means likely to
bring the contest to a glorious termination. The expedis
'den to the Crimea had been regarded from the first as one
of the objects to' be kept in view by the Allied Generals,
.and when the whole Russian line had retreated across the
Danube, and even beyond the Pruth, the Tauric Peninsula
was obviously the fittest , field for the operations of the
maritime Powers. The French Government, however,
appears to have expressed at an early period its preference
for Kaffa as the base of operations on the Crimean coast,
and something like a reproach is cast upon the Allied.
Generals for having selected their place of landing and
attack' elsewhere. It is on this point that We differ from.
the conclusions at which the author of the article in the
ilionitcur has arrived. The project of a landing at Kaffa
had frequently attracted our attention, and was morethan
once adverted to in these columns ; but, after full con-
sideration, in which we had the advantage of some of the
highest military authorities in Europe, whO were not con-
sulted by the French Government, we were led to the
conviction that, although Kaffa offered the greatest ad;
vantages of any point in the Crimea for the landing and
first' tablishment of the army and for the fleet, yet that
the position of this pert present almost insuper-
able obstacles to our advance against Sebastopol. The
great deficiency of the army was, that it' landed in the
middle of September, without adequate means of trans-
port and with a feeble division of cavalry, while it remained
dependent for many necessaries on the.ficet. A march
from Kaffa upon Simpheropol would have compelled the
army to enter upon a line of country separated from the
sea by a chain of high mountains, and exposed to
flank attacks from the light troops of the enemy. To un-
fdertake.staeh *march of 100,ailes in the conditin Je
(miry autumn would have been in enterprise
of the most perilous kind. Had the expedition landed at
Kaffa, as some of the officers in high command were dis-
posed to recommend, it would probably have been com-
pelled to pass the winter there in inaction, and the allied
Governments would have been roundly accused of treachery
to the cause they professed to defend; in fact, they might
with far greater advantage have passed the winter iu the
Bosphorus. But it appears to us to be at the present time
ungenerous and incorrect to lay the blame of our
difficul-
ties upon, men who took a decision which was ratified at
the time by public opinion and military judgment through-
out Europe. Moreover, one of the very first directions
given to Marshal St. Arnaud, in the event of his invading
the Crimea, was to seize the harbour of Balaklava, and to
maintain the communications between the army and the
ships.
It is not therefore to the strategical plan of this cam-
paign, as adopted by the allied Generals, that we think
adverse criticisms can be fairly addressed. The errors
committed have occurred much more in the execution of
the plan than in the conception of it. We regret that at
certain times and opportunities a vigorous attempt was
not made to defeat the relieving army of the enemy ;
whereas this French statement admits that we have had
no army of observation at all. We share the universal
astonishment at the manner in which the siege has been
conducted—the attempt to cover upwards of 26 miles of
works and approaches—the delay which occurred iu the first
instance, when an attack was possible—the neglect of all
means to acticipate and destroy the works of the enemy,
rising as if by magic before our eyes, and the, astonishing i
blindness which suffered the Russians to occupy and fortify
the Mamelon, which is the key of their position,' although
it is situated 100 yards nearer to the French lines than
to their own. These are some of the causes which have
frustrated the siege, all of which may be summed up in
one sentence—that the Russians have shown more science,
strength, and invention in their mode of defence than the
allied forces in their mode of attack. No donbt, the diffi-
culties of the besiegers were great and. extraordinary, but
so were those of the' beSieged ; and the highest achieve-
ment of the art of was is to take advantage of those diffi-
Culties for oneself and to turn them to the disadvantage of,
the enemy. Agreeing therefore in the main with tb'es
French statement ate to the strategical operations of the
campaign, wo cannot assent to its defence of the technical
operations of the siege. It seems, on thq, contrary, to have
turned out that the allied armies are weakest precisely in
thoSe scientific departments on which we relied with the
greatest confidence; and, having exhausted the skill of
our engineers, it is now intimated that the armies have
the resource of taking the field.' We sincerely hope. that
this decision, which we haVe now strenuously advocated
for more than a month, has at last bee'a taken ; but with-
out more energy of command and vigour of invention than
have hitherto been shown by the Generals it is impossible
to carry on successful warfare.

(Front the Times of this day.)
We were prevented last night, by press of matter, from
offering'any comment upon the case of Mrs. Ramsbotham.
The report of the proceedings appeared in our impression
of yesterday. Upon the facts of the case it would be
needless for us to offer any comment, so painful a notoriety
have they obtained. Suffice it to say, that it appears to
have been proved beyond all doubt that this lady did ac-
tually abstract from the shop of a draper named Moule,
in Baker-street, certain small articles —a pair of sleeves and
four pocket-hankerchiefs. The only question was, was
she at the time of the commission of the act in her right
mind? She had stolen, or rather was supposed to have
stolen, the sleeves, and when she pre rented herself again
measures were taken to have her carefully watched. Of
course, when the question of motive come to be considered
the case absolutely broke down. Motive there could be
none in Mrs. Ramsbotham's case. SI! fs might, had she so
pleased, have had all the sleeves and handkerchiefs in Mr.
Monle's shop, and her husband would have paid the bill
without much murmur. The fact is, that in commenting
upon this case we find ourselves in. a certain difficulty.
The medical reasons alleged by Mr. Ballantine in his de-
fence of the prisoner were in all pro bability founded upon
truth, bnt they are not of a cbara cter to bear much dis-
cussion. She had arrived at a times of life when the whole
nervous system of women is altered, and, when the change
is a morbid one. they are scarcely, ,if at all responsible fer
their actions. There are among tEem persons who, "during
that change, are in constant neirvous excitement—under
continual hallucinations—resulting from a morbid affection
of the brain, superinduced by the change alluded to."
Sech was Mr. Ballantine's defence, and it appears to be
founded on reasonable grounds.
For, let us forget far a mom ant that Mrs. Ramsbotham
was in a social position someaFng above the common, and
treat the case simply as that. o'. a person who might with-
out violence to preconceived. notions have been placed at
the bar of criminal justice. Evidence would naturally be
'iven to show that she had been guilty of pilfering articles
of slight value. That being admitted, it would be shown
ou the other side that the articles she had stolen—let us
choose the hardest word.---could be of no possible value, to
her ; that she had spent a long life with an unblemished
character, and in the e7cemplary discharge of every duty
of life ; and that at th e time of the commission of the sup-
posed theft she was in a state of health of which mental hal-
lucination is the ordinary concomitant. Under these cir-
cumstances would an y ordinary jury have brought in a ver-
dict of "Guilty" against the poorest applewoman ? If
this be so, certainly, the fact that Mrs. Ramsbotham was
in a somewhat higlaer social position ought not in reason
to have affected the verdict. In her case, happily, verdict
there was none. The jury could not be brought to agree
on any conclusion. Six of them believed Mrs. Ramsbotham
to have been insAne at the time of the commission of the
act—that is, to have been under mental hallucination. Six
of the number took the opposite view. Against this result,
we nave nothing to say. We can conceive minds which
kh ,
could admit of doubt in such a case ; and then it must not h
be forgotten that the social position of the accused told
avant her. A jurpul w o would havo.judautly

quitted the consort of a eostermonger hesitated in the case
of a physician's wife. Might he not be blinded by respect
to rank and position ? We dissent from the conclusion,
however sound we ;admit the principle to be.

(From. tkc Daily* News of this day.)

• The contest for thel,representation of the county of Cavan
has terminated in the return of Mr. Burrowes, the Con-
servative candidate, by. a considerable majority. This re-
sult is no mote than we anticipated. Cavan is: one of the
ancient strongholds of territorial Toryism in the North of
Ireland. It has , for gen'erations been held by the herelli
tarp garrison, consisting of the proprietors of the soil and
a sturdy yeomanry -whom they
have always kept alma'
thorn, against the Catholic majority' of the population.
These latter have never yet been able to muster sufficient
courage, perhaps we ought rather to say have never been
inspired with sufficient desperation, to overpower the
compact and intrepid phalanx that have..now-once more
overborne and vanquished the irresolution of superior
numbers. It is the old story. The majority, sanguine of
victory, but unconscious of the-moral strength by which
victories are won, have hoped,vowed, promised, threatened
—done everything but vote unanimously in favour of the
popular candidate ; and they have been in consequence
beaten in the struggle by the firm and united bind who
still treasure in their hearts the traditions of social and
sectarian ascendancy, throughout the greater part of Ire-.
land, but more especially in the province of Ulster.
' Cavan is peculiarly subject to the influences of the state
of things above noticed. It is one of those land-locked
districts which in,a, slowly progressive country is sure to
be among the longest to remain i.itellectually and messily
torpid. .According to the delusive test of statistics, it
would seem to possess political resources as great as Many
ether counties. By the last return made to Parliament it
appeart to contain 3,850 electors, a number quite as large
in proportion to its entire population as many counties
where representative rights have long been successfully, if
not always very sagaciously, exercised. But what avail
mere numbers, if the habits of submission engendered in
the times of .legal disfranchisement and r eligious oppression
have never been broken? The disfrz.nLliserrient no longer
exists by act of Parliament; the statutory:oppression
the followers of one creed by the,:pr'ofefisora,,cf another has
been swept away ; but the instinotive fear and faltering of
serfhood Ail' remain. Loiterieg.a.t the door of the forge,
or around - the turf fire of the,public-house, the
gossips of every parish have long been accintoined to-read
in the'coltunns of some Weekly journal what was going on,
or said.to be going on,lsewhere; and no doubt the recital
of elections fought and7:won on popular principles in other
counties stirred within them sincere desires'of doing like-.
wise, and certain ill-reasoned,hopes that similar .attempts
in Cavan' would not prove vain. But political examples
are merely the seeds that fall by the wayside, or in stony
places, that take no root, or, when they do, wither rapidly
,Without the element amongst-them of an inde-
,-,penaent mercantile class—without a single populous town
Ito serve as the cradle of political organisation--zwithout a
:resident gentry professing even Whig opinions, the mass of
-the community have practically lived in a state of politi-
cal stagnation as complete as that of any similar number
of the inhabitants of an Austrian province. . .

Since the fierce struggle waged 1u 1826 at the instance
of the Catholic Association, nu real cout st between the
vassal Many and the dominant Few .has occurred in
Cavan: There have been noisy competitions for the ho-
:uour of representing the landlords of the county in Par-
liament between various individuals belonging to that
privileged class. Sometimes a show of what, in that de-
isolate region, passed for Liberalism, was made by a can-
eliciate who wished to obtain the support of the Marquis of
Headfort, and sometimes, as in the case of Sir J. Young,
s. special dispensation to commit Peelism was granted by
Lord Farnham, the all-powerful head of Orangeism in the
locality, while Sir John's colleague was required to vote
-utlra-tawny upon every conceivable question. But in
these squabbles of the 'squirearchy and nobles the rack-
rented and despised tenant-farmers generally had no in-
terest whatever. Nobody thought of them or their feel-
ings on the occasion. In plain truth it did not matter
sixpence what they thought or felt upon the matter. And
the consequence of `this we now see, in the actual helpless-
ness of the acknowledged majority of the constituency to
assert the right of choosing a man for their representa-
tive, which nominally and according to the lying letter of
the law they undoubtedly possess. Mr. Hughes, the un-
successful candidate, is a man of recognised talents very
superior to his opponent. He is a ready and fluent speaker ;
a person of amiable disposition and conciliatory manner;
an excellent landlord ; an advocate of the ballot and of
tenant-right ; and finally a Roman Catholic without
bigotry, or the affectation of adherence to the degrading
dogmas of passive obedience on the part of the laity, re-
cently imported by Cardinal Wiseman and Arch-
bishop' Cullen from Rome. Mr. Hughes is, more-
over, a man of wealth, and we have heard that
no expense was spared by him in the promotion of
his cause. All these, among such a population as
that which he canvassed, formed a rare combination of
Dam/it:ages. The Roman Catholic voters aro stated as
oeitatimberine. the Protestants in Cavan by two to one;
send although Mr Burrowes professed himself unwilling to
cake the' pledge against Maynooth, he avowedly stood upon
.the Orange interest, and with the support of Lord Farn-
ham. Nevertheless, Mr. Hughes has been beaten by three
hundred votes, on a two days' poll. The silent terror
exe:rcistsd over the minds of an impoverished and defence-
less tenantry, by the irresponsible powers of landlordism,
proved stlonger than the combined influences of prejudice,
opinion, feeling, popular excitement, and religious appeals.
From. the steps of the altar the Roman Catholic bishop
addressed his flock on the previous Sunday on the merits
of tkie rival candidates, adjuring them to vote for Mr;
I.ll,whes. But it is a cprious illustration of the truth of
Ih if vticws already stated, that his principal anxiety seems
i to 'have been to persuade his hearers that they need not
a pprehend distraint or eviction from their little holdings,
trovided they succeeded in defeating the candidate of the
'tandlords. One can readily imagine the paralysing influ-
ence of the doubt herein betrayed. Resort seems to have
been unsparingly had to open threats, and in some in-
stances to actual violence. A score of Roman Catholic
voters, while proceeding under the escort of a few police-
men to the county town, were beset by an armed mob,
who forcibly carried them off, and detained them in will
ing custody until they were re-captured by the agent of
their landlord, at the head of a detachment of cavalry;
a fter which they were conducted to the hustings, and
polled for the Tory candidate !
And yet there are sanctified hypocrites amongst us who
continue to say that there is no used of the ballot.

(From, the Morning Chronicle of this day.)
We should be sorry to see the just indignation of the
British people, at the shortcomings of an individual Mini-
at or, 'dwindle down to a mere vulgar outcry against
" Lords." The English are not a revolutionary people,
al though their feelings are most erroneously supposed to
b 6; represented by some revolutionary journalists. If they
should overthrow the present Government, it will not be
;in order'to substitute for it another composed of certain
ambitious and overrated men, who have conceived the
daring scheme of riaing into office upon a reputatioa made
by their own self-puffing. That " Jahn Bull loves a lord"
was true at ode period, but in a sense wholly diflerent
from that in which it is accepted at the present time. If
the English no longer regard the aristocracy with the fet-
ishism which formerly was their opprobrium, they are yet
fer:frorn the position to which 'the French were brought
at the close of the last century, when to be an aristocrat
W 1.19 to merit ostracism or death.
If "lords" are clever men, there is no reason why .they
sh,euld not b 3 employed in the public service. As those
among them who rise to high stations are regularly 'eat-
ceded in all the mechanical part of statesmanship, the
chances are that they will make better ministers than men
who hove not been bred to the work, however great their
natural capacity or their means of obseryhtion. Among
the leading statesmen of the present time, if there be a
laree proportion of " lords," it must at least be admitted
that those "lords" are not deficient in ability, whether as
speakers or as men of business. Let any man accustomed
to attend the debates of the House of Commons say that
the "lords" do not rather preponderate than otherwise
among the superior men of that assembly.
Lord Palmerston has laid himself open to these attacks
upon the aristocracy as, an institution—for there is no mis-
I taking their object—by the extreme exclusivism of his
Ministerial appointments. Never, in our recent history,
have we had a Minister who has so completely mistaken
hie mission. The people of England would not have grum-
bled had the lords and lordlings and the plain men been
pretty fairly divided ; but such a shameless monopoly—
not of lords with talent, but of mediocrities with titles—
stirs their blood, and makes them an easy prey to dema-
gogues. Lord Palmeiliton seems to' have had no eye, in
his choice of Ministers; for any person out of a charmed
circle ; and he has apportioned the offices to the men, not
the men to the offices, seemingly without the slightest
reference to relative fitness. Even this error might have
been overlooked had any vigour been introduced into the
Administration—had a principle of thorough and unspar-
ing reformation been announced,. even although it might
not have been possible to carry IL into immediate execu-
tion universally.
One might suppose that a sentiment of aristocratic pride
thren
aun use of
ideat.
of t'
the is
doubtful
had influenced the Premier throughout. There is nothing
your therOugh aristocrat finds so antagonistic to his che-
rished traditions of self importance as the influence of the
Press. Palmerston,
Paltmo ehrismtonm,annoytwcoitqhusettatnindginsgwhiitshptohe popularity-hunt-
ing
y
is
conductors h n
of-
ing of former days, a man of this stamp. Report- has
newspapers
whether
oy
I)l
e lo
to "makerd has
value of the Press as an institution, or whether clear
he looks
a
upon it in any other light than as troublesome and in.
trusive meddler in affairs which are the
uarters peculiar province
.of aristocrats, born Ministers of State. To such a man
the dictatorial tone assumed in certain
ap-
pear arrogant and offensive. He
wouldq would.
to have particular individuals thrust naturally refuse
upon him as
avourites of jour
col-
leagues, merely because they were the f
nalists. He might think them intemperate,
and overrated pretenders. yet, judging conceited,
appointments, might have
,adopted them if sufficiently
from some of his
well connected ; though if they were forced upon him by.
simulated public opinion, he would reject them with'dis-
dein.
petulance,
enough, such a man,
dictates of his own pride or
the opposite extreme. To proclaim
would rush into
au
form a Ministry of pretentious demagogues,
his repugnance to
insgo
com-
pound one of mere mouldy aristocratic fgtes, he would
this way, perhaps, it may be possibleragments. ' In
offen-
sively exclusive character of the to explain the
present
We will do Lord Palmerston the Administration.
justice to think that he
would not deliberately defy public
o
it, however, we hope unconscieue
s be dictated to by rY, in inion,He has defied
showing that he is determined not to his manner of
pre-
tenders who assume to speak in th
This question—of the class ofname of the public.
persons
servants of the Crown shall be chosen—is from whom the
many important considerations wih one involving
offered to the attention of the r-re not usually
public°
mind is stirred on the subject, and
thereas
e-As the national
or later, be an explosion, it is as well t must, sooner
cost we shall effect a changeo know at caner al;
in our system.
to make a revolution in order to serve lt will not do
few individuals. The interest% of this great Empire must
be governed by the aristocracy, Nve
inavie,t are no longer to
have somethir4:
equally permanent and responsible in'th •
are those men to be, tied bow are they t their stead. WI
Here we have to encounter the obe paid?
arising out of our vicious social system, permanent obstacle,
social maim, the nolkuli to
. give grtuid wertp,inauouts,

and to keep up excessive establishments—these are neces-
sary conditions, as matters are at present, if a Minister
would command respect. The salary received by a states-
uau is only by the vulgar supposed to be a motive to am-
"bition. As a general rule, the chief officers of State are
rich enough to regard their pay simply as a compensation
for the additional expenditure imposed on them by their
official position. If we are to have the " new men" who
are just-now backed by the.dernagogues against the aristo-
cracy, all this must be changed. But the vice of mammon
worship is ingrained in the national character • and it if
precisely among these middle classes on whose behalf this
movement iainade that it exists in great virulence. Does
arty regectiug person belieVe that public men, notoriously
poor and living by office, would command that respect for
purity as to pecuniary considerations, the existence of
which is the one redeeming virtue of our political system ?•
If ministers were chosen from another class—from th:.ss
Men of tile Age of Iron, who within the last 30 or 40
yo s.ri have so illustrated the creative and progressive power
of this country would oar present system serve ? As we
arrange. matters now, salaries are low if compared with the
average rate of expenditure, while the tenure of office is
short and uncertain, and electioneering expenses are heavy.
Men who, by the exorcise of their faculties and experience,
are making their thousands per year, and are accumulating
fortunes—can you, by anything which your present scale
of remuneration permits you to offer, tempt them to give
up their .certaititiei for their uncertainties? We are not
supposing sordid, but prudential considerations at work in
their minds. If you change your system, and are not
made the mere cat's-pawnf cunning demagogues, you must
not only- get rid of your lords and , lordlings—you must
also provide,`..ood substitutes, and you must pay them. In
France the Emperor can choose the best men to work out
his will; in Austria, the Emperor can call to his councils
men like Bach or de Bruck—in one sense the counter-
parts of thosca we should think of here—but they are not
liable to. be ,displaced at the caprice of a popular
assembly, Workellupon by some profligate party Coalition,
or by anenynious demagogues. out of doors. Have, the
public thought of these things? Are they prepared to
discard,their narrow and vulgar prejudices kl,s •to expensei
and, if they throw off, the aristocratic amateurs, adequ?.tely,
to rewam4d the new working men? These are questions'
which the.coinmen sousu,ot, the people deduces from the.
cry for " new men." The aristocracy may thank Lord
Palinerston's proud exclusiveness in the formation of his
Ministry that they have arisen at all in the public mind.

(Front the Morning Poet of this day.)

It certainly is very much to be regretted that, in conse-
quence of an oversight, or an omission, in the Militia
Amendment Act of last session, the country at the-present
time has suddenly been deprived of a considerable portion
of the rank and file of the urilitia, who were gradually ac-
quiring a practical knowledge of the duties which belong •
to a regular military force. To Earl Grey, and to the
E <rl of Malmesbury, we must attribute the credit of having
originated a discussion in • the House of Lords which has
already had the unfortunate effect of sending back to their
homes a considerable portion of our militia. These men,
on hearing from so high authority the mere suggestion that
they could not legally be required to serve more than fifty-
six days in each year, except " in cases of actual invasion,
or upon imminent danger thereof, or in cases of rebellion
or insurrection "—contingencies Which happily are in no
respect probable—very naturally thought that service in
the militia was a very good occupation daring the'winter
months, and that an opportunity of returning to their in-
dustrious and, perhaps, more profitable employments
during the summer and harvest time, was one which they
could not •be expected to overlook. Although the law
officers of the Crown. were of opinion that, under the
provisions of the Militia Act. which received the
Royal Assent so late as the 12th of May, 1851, the
militiamen who had already enlisted might be retained
on permanent service, tho Government, influenced by
an honourable and considerate desire not to construe an
enactment which some persons considered doubtful, too
stringently and strictly, at once gave permission to militia-
men enlisted previously to the l'..!th of May, 1851, to re-
tire from the service, subject to the obligation of returning
to their colours for 56 days during each year. Many of the
men, with a loyalty which deserves the highest praise,
have re-enlisted ; but it would be idle to conceal the fact
that some regiments, which a few' weeks ago were rivalling
the troops of the line in discipline and efficiency, have be-
come mere skeletons, ca:listing of officers, non-commis-
sioned officers, and drummers, the nucleus on which a now
regiment must be formed., Under these circumstances, it
is very much to ba regretted that the late Government,
when it was about embodying the militia of the United
Siogdona, did not revise the whole of the statutes relating
to the domestic military organisation of the country, for
the purpose of c msolidating them in one plain and simple
enactment adapted to the new state of things which our
engagirg in hsstilities had created. It is, however, satin
factory to know that the recruitment for the army and the
militia is steadily progressing ; and that, before long, the
militia regiments will have been restored to their full com-
plement of rank and file. We think that advantage may
now be taken of ,the temporary dislocation of this force to
restore a system which Was found of such great utility
during the last war. Let us have the number of one
hundred and twenty thousand permanently embodied
militia for service in the United Kingdom and in
the colonies ; and let us have also the men, who
are still liable'to duty for a limited period in each
year, formed into battalions like the local militia,
and fencible corps, which existed during the last war. By
this means the country would obtain the services of a larger
number of men than originally was anticipated, and both
descriptions of militia would form excellent nurseries for
the line by facilitating recruiting in all parts of the coup,
try. Should this suggestion be adopted, the interference
of Earl Grey and the Earl of Malmesbury would, we be-
lieve, lead to a positive advantage to the public service by
increasing the military force of the nation —an object
which we cannot believe at all engrossed their patriotic
attention, when they detected with so much avidity what
they thought an oversight or omission in an act of Parlia-
ment.
There is another point connected with the militia which
should not at the present time be disregarded. We refer
to the qualication and educati in required from officers. By
a recent act property qualification is dispensed with in the
Case of officers who have served in the Queen's and Ei.st
India armies, but all other officers of the rank of captain
and field officers are required to possess a certain annual
income. The consequence of this state of things is, that in
many regiments expensive habits are encouraged, which the
poor officer cannot participate in without running into debt.
There is first of all a large outlay for the band, and in many
cases the mess charges, although nothing to a country gen-
Veman, are a serious tax upon • the poor subaltern, with
his six and sixpence or five and threepence a'day. It must
be borne in-mind that many gallant young gentlmen of
little or no property take commissions in the militia for
the purpose of afterwards volunteering into the line, which
they are enabled to do on obtaining seventy-five men, and
without passing any examination. If it be the desire of
the authorities to invite into the militia well-educated and
well conducted young men, they should certainly lay down
some rule fixing a limit for the mess expenses, and dis-
couraging any extravagance on the part of the officers, so
as to enable the poor man to live respectably upon his pay.
Inducements also should be offered to militia officers to
study something more than mere battalion drill. They
should read works on strategy, fortification, and gunnery,
and they should be taught to direct their men in throwing
up field. works ; and from those who would show them-
selves most proficient in a practical and scientific know-
ledge of theit profession, a fair proportion of the staff
.fticers to be employed at the camp of Aldershot should be
selected. These officers should undergo an examination
at the senior department of Sandhurst, and, after serving
for a period upon the staff at home, they might be allowed
to volunteer with equal rat:k into the line. We merely
throw out these suggestions, belieVing it to be both just
and expedient that the militia should feel the influence of
any improvements which may be effected in the general
organisation of the regular army.

BRITISH PROVIDENT LIFE AND FIRE
ASSURANCE.

The third annual meeting of the shareholders of this
society was, yesterday, held at their offices, 4, Ohatham-
place, New Bridge-street, Blaokfriars. In the temporary
absence of Captain alalkin, the chairman of the society,
Mr. Britten, sen., was called on to preside.
The notice calling the meeting having been read,
The CHAIRMAN said that as he had unexpectedly been
called upon to preside over the meeting, he hoped that any
errors he might commit in the discharge of his duty would
be received with indulgence by those present. He sincerely
regretted the absence of their regular chairman, Captain
Malkin, for, had he been present, he would have told them
that the directors regarded the condition of the society as
exceeding in prosperity anything they could have well ex-
pected, considering the circumstances of the period—war,
disease, and scarcity, all combining to prevent the develop-
ment of commerce, and compared what they were now
doing with their position two years ago. They had now
nothing bad to report ; on the contrary, everything was
looking well. With these observations he would call on
their ale manager, Mr. John Sheridan, to read the report
of the directors for the past year, a document which
would, he was sure, meet with their full and warm appro-
bation.
Mr. SHERIDAN then read th'e report, which was as fol-
lows :—" The directors are much gratified in meeting the
shareholders and policyholders of the company at the close
of another year, and in being enabled to present to them a
report descriptive of the continued success, well-being, and
favourable progress of the company. The directors like-
wise feel that they have reasonable cause for congratulating
themselves, the shareholders, and policyholders generally,
upon the result of the past year's working of the institu-
tion, when they take into consideration the keen compe-
tition now existing in the assurance world, the amount
of labour now required to procure anything like a success-
ful business, and that the year now closed has been rife
with obstacles to all commercial pursuits, and to speculi-
tion in particular. In the life -department, the directors
have to report the receipt of. 985 proposals since the last
meeting, proposing to assure 123,335/. 10s. Bd.-804 of
-which have resulted in policies, assuring 94,740/. 19s. 6d.
—127 have been declinnd or not carried out, and 54 are
now under consideration, or waiting the medical reports.
The comparison With the two preceding reports of the
company will therefore stand thus :—At the first meeting
of the shareholders, in 1553, the directors reported that
they had received 50 proposals for insurance, 27 of which
they accepted and issued policies for. The premiums re-
ceived on those lides amounted to 1581. Os. 5d., and the
income they yielded to the office was stated at 2511. 14s.
sd. per annum. In the interval between that and their
second annual meeting, the proposals received numbered
premiums
613, 438 of which had teen completed. The
received on these amounted to 1,7481.
office Cis' 2'. 7781
the annual income yielded by them to. the
wals received,
9s. I.d. Adding to these figures the 985
w p
ithoPtho amount of,
and the 8)4 policies issued last year,6sl
4s•), and
ofa"bnul-1
premiums received on theiFicT 7they
afford, the totalumme,
income (3,8311. lls. sd.)zelnst 3 years may be th!p,..5.,;
pro!
ness of the society f0rit"1.673 policies isst?ed, 't)"
I income. 6,8311.
up—proposals received. 178.
sd.
mining received, Tcyease up ~n the last of 342, in the
11R. 5,1., 1-c'e.ng " increase
received, 366 in the number of policies
er o.' prop owls in the amount of
ipnrem accordanceiu ins re-
s , 2,01 b/.
3/, 2s. 4d• in the income.
ie:Swhecti'baelViles'°B*hich the directors deem it prudent, for the
oaety
of the 01,0401dero and the beneAt c tbQ policy

/ _
4,41 V
Ha 4,,
•

r PRICE SD.

holders, to adopt at the outset of .the company, they have
to rePcirt that they still continue to transfer their fire busi-
ness to another of which office has been selected with
great care, as beitee, one of a stable character, based upon
a durable foundation. As regards losses in the life depart-
ment, the directors hae•er to report the falling in Of Line
policies, assuring in the aggregate the small sum of 41N.
25., which is a peCuliar source- of gratification to them, as
it evinces the care and cautioa with which the lives are
selected ' by the medical officers of the company, whose
duties this year, the direetors would: wish to impress upon
the shareholders,-have been more than usually responsible,
owing to the severe outbreak and lengthened -visita-
tion of the cholera in the summer. The directors
have further to report that they have succeeded,
since • the meeting of 1854, in considerably in-
creasing their staff of efficient working agents in
England, Scotland, and Wales, and also in opening a
branch office le Hamburg, with representatives in the
smaller dependencies thereof. It ..is with much pleasure
the directors have also to inform the shareholders that the
subscribed capital of tie company now amounts to 69,7101 ,
10 being an addition of 27,4'. upon the lad return. The
directors have lastly to report, that a dividend on the paid-
up capital of the compmy, after the rate cf 5/. per cent.
per annum, will be paid upon application at the chief office
of the company; on and after the 31st of May now next
ensuing. In conclusion, they would urge Nein the share-
holders, policyholders; anti their friends generally, the
necessity of keeping their office well anti •ofteuebefore the
public, not by advertisement; but by, using their personal
influence and interest in introducing it to the several
domestic circles in which they move, anti to their respec-
tive acquaintance anti leisiness correspondents."
The CHAIRiIAN then moved that the report be received
and adopted.
•, 1 • ,
Mr. WEBBEI had great phiavee in seconding the motion,
for he was quite sure that, 01Apokine over the balenee-
sheet, every gentleman connected 'with° the society would
agree with him, that the intireetee in their business during
the past year had been everything they could have expected, '
considering the difficulties which"they had had to encounter.
'lt waCnocessaryi for him to mention those difficulties in. dee
tail to them, as they were patent .to them all. They
were well aware that commercial affairs were at pre
sent in what - might be termed -a - .state of stag-
nation. ' They were - might]
oppressed with a doubled
income tax, and - there was ovary prospect of the
national burdens being permanently iucreesed by the pay-
ment of inter est ona lcian which it wa§ rumoured was eibout"
to be raised.' - 'When things were in that •state; it was not
usual for people to put their hands in their pockets for the
purposes of speculation. Leaving aside any further allu-
sion to the state of the times, he Ivished to call the atten-
tion of the meeting to two or three items mentioned in the
report. First, he observed that their losses during the
.year had been exceedingly few. This was the more grati-
fying, as there were few offioes Whiclehad assembled their
shareholders during the last few 'naafis which had norf(i-
apologise to them for the ravages of the grim tyrant ; and
although their own escape from them might be considered
to some extent the result of good fortune, yet he could not
help feeling that their thanks 'and gratitude were due to
their medical officers for the care and cautioe which they
exercised in the selecting of lives. He also noticed that
they had considerably increased the amount of their sub-
scribed capital, and he felt pleased that they had done
so, as he was of opinion that a paid-up capital went
far to the establishment of a society like theirs. It gave
them rank and position, and it inspired the public with
confidence in their stability, seeing that they had an
ample fund to fall back upon; Of their agents in
,the
country, he had to observe that they were well selected
and highly efficient. Indeed he had lately had an oppor-
tunity of examining their despatches and accounts,
and he was bound to say that he felt quite sur-
prised to see how well they ' worked the principle
of life assurance. These were facts which were satis-
factory and gratifying as regarded the present, but which
also augured well of their future success. These were the
principal items to which he wished to call their attention.
He did not wish to expatiate on the benefits of life assar-
ance' but he could not help referring to. an expression
which, although enunciated in a language different from
their own, had now become a household word among them.
It was usual to say, " Nil snortuis nisi' bonum," but he
thought that; if they were to read reruns for bonuni, they_
would be doing no harm to the dead ; but, on the contrary,
a great benefit to the living. They had each one, no
doubt, been acquainted with some one now dead of whom
they spoke as a good-natured, jolly, kind-hearted fellow;
whereas, if the truth were to be told of him, they would
have to hold him up as a beacon to warn off others from
the rocks and shoals of improvidence, instead of as an ex-
ample to be followed by them. Of all provident habits,
those, he thought, were the most honourable and the most
to be admired, in the good fruits of which it was impossible
that he who practised them could himself participate.
When a man provided for the comfort and independence
of those whom he left, after him, ho did a great deal to-
wards lessening the poignancy of their grief 'ler his loss,
and to brighten with hope the tear of affection wbich they
shed over his new-made grave. Of hire they might say—
" Light be the turf of thy tomb, •
May its verdure like emeralds be;
There is not a shadow of gloom
In aught that reminds us of thee."
(Cheers.) These remarks brought him to the conclusion of
what he had to say, but he couid net sit 'down without
impressing on them all the necessity of carrying out the
recommendation expressed in the last words of the report,
by using their influence with their friends to ..et them to
insure in the office, as by doing so they would not only
advantage the society, but would also confer a great benefit
upon the individuals themselves. It was true that they

might be equally benefited, by insuring their lives in some,
other office; but as charity begat at horee, bethought that,
as shareholders, they were bound in duty to do their best
for the institution in which they were themselves interested.
Much had been already done in that direction by the three-
tors ; and ho could not sit down without giving expression
to the satisfaction which he, ass shareholder, derived from
their having done so ;
.and he thought that too much
praise could not be given to their excellent manager, Mr.
John Sheridan, for the able and zealous manner in which
he had similarly exerted himself. He found that youth
would be served ; and although , any allusion to politics
would be there out of place, ho could not help saying that,
if they had had a few younger men in another quarter of
the world, things would have been better managed than it
was reported that they had been." •
The CHAIRMAN having put the motion, it was unani-
mously agreed to.
Mr. HARDING said that he had the pleasure and honour
to bring before the attention of the meeting the merits of
the retiring directors. Of these gentlemen there was only
one who offered himself for re-election—namely, Captain
Malkin, who had been a member of the society from its
commencement, and had seen its infancy, its troubles, and
its prosperity. He was one of the few who had from the
commencement stuck to the ship, and now that they were
sailing in deep waters, it would not be fair in them to-
wards him to withhold their recognition of his services.
They were aware th it-with him two other directors also
retired, and he thought it well that the . meeting should
understand why it was that they did not offer themselves
for re-election. Mr. Glenn, one of these gentlemen, had
never professed to take any active part in the management
of the society to which he had kindly lent the waight of
his name, and had in that manner materially assisted in
giving it stability, but he had done so on the condition
that; when they wero strong enough to do without him,
they should allow him to withdraw. The other gentleman,
Mr. Hiller, had not been much among them for the lait
two years, nor was his interest in the society large, and
therefore it was that his name did not appear for re-elec-
tion. Recurring, hOwever, to Captain Malkin, it was un7

necessary to make further remark than to say that he had
been with thew, and stood by them, from first to last. It
was true that they had gone through many phases, and
that differences of opinion had existed between himself
and Captain Malkin, but those differences wore but paper-
kite differences ; and, as the paterfamilias of the society,
he might say that they had now altogether passed away.
Here Captain Malkin entered the room, when Mr. Hard-
ing explained to him the tonoyr of the observations which
he had made in reference to him.

Mr. JAMES seconded the motion, which was unanimously
agreed to; after which _

_Captain MALKIN briefly expressed his acknowledgments
of the compliment, and took possession of the chair.
Mr. Frrai, in moving the re-election of the retiring au-
ditors, Messrs. J. Britten and H. B. Sheridan, referred to
their fitness for the office. The latter gentleman, from his
connection with another assurance company, was one whom
they might expect would go carefully into the examination
of their accounts, while of the former he would observe
that, being his colleague as auditor of another society, he
fogad him most careful in the discharge of his duties.
Mr. HODSON, in seconding the proposition, said that he
thought it would be a work of supererogation to add a single
word to the observations of the last speaker on the claims
of their retiring auditors to re-election. In fact, their own
report was, he considered, their best praise, and they well
deserved all that had been said in their favour.
The motion was unanimously agreed to.
Mr. H. B. SHERIDAN expressed for himself and colleague
the high sense they entertained of the compliment paid to
them.
Mr. H. B. SHERIDAN then said, that having returned
thanks for the auditors, he had now to move that a vote
similar to that which they had received should be passed
in favour of the directors. It had been stated that ha.
belonged to another assurance company—he would not say
to a rival one, for it was the courtesy of the profession to
altogether ignore the idea of rivalry—but he could assure
them that he did not the loss on that account rejoice in
seeing this society thriving and prostwrous, and proving
remunerative to the shareholders. While he thus denied
the existence of rivalry, he was, however, bound to state
that there was great keenness of competition, and that one
office often ran neck and neck with another, but all in an
honourable spirit: When societies so competed, he thoughtt
they would agree with him that it was highly p
trAt the shareholders should have full reliance
directors, who, on their part, by the extent
os
..,.ac„
_.
of
gave convincing proof of their approval anrdke !LI
d 3 circuna-
the principles on which the society was wo
to the sbarr
y
stance that could not fail to be satisfactory their
!frau °trhei r
°their stake.
directors were found willing coot
to
indirect compliment t:hotso
holders. That approval was th e ornouaepi p.
of the society. It was also an
ekind
of
oino a
showed that ho wa th
benefit to be e.
manager, and .
alluded to the
ns of extend-
rent when
they required. Having
policies as a A
the management
he
rived from the
by formally movingOD
seconded the motion, it was
having
~ ,
The Rev. Mr. q
d to, and acknowledged by the Chair-
agree
ing the connectilo.ssnuoetfohaenrazotLratinocne.comPanmy°,
unanimously
man• in moving the thanks of
th teheabsioicitiety to file
y and assi-
manager
tjchol: is'eSsthimeraittleanof the value of Mr. -Sheridan.
seconded the proposition, and corrobo•
H EwßalsD AaN,cuinstormeaturyrnoilnieg
atthmaenekisin,
Tcidu'oflicers,
vita Mr.
Observed
The motion having been carried by acclamation
(laity ofAlFri.
but nevertheless a very
:JOHNt character,voteS
tended
3Mfrr.. BFuIICHETT
satisfactory
foaf c thatto
ry
officers had at least
Ok thatnioMed,r
and.
atsh
done their duty, and that their
ice just;bed
endeavours had not en-
tirely failed in their object. $e
for the kind reception they had ged leave to thank themi
terms in which they had c gven to the vote, for the
confidence reposed in them, carried it, and for the continued
em, which he sincerely hoped and
trusted they might
never see transferred. H eabserved
that, when they last
met
in this room, they met to cele-
brat* the 1 oon
- of What PPP** to thus a very 'Mil.