The Sun.
London, England, 1855-02-28 00:00:00

The royal assent was given this day to the Army Ser-
vice Amendment Act.
Their lordships adjourned during pleasure.
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack
at five o'clock.
MAJOR-GEN. VIVIAN AND THE TURKISH
CONTINGENT.
The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH said he had given
notice to the War Minister of his intention to ask
some questions relative to the appointment of
Major-General Vivian, late Adjutant-General of the
Madras army, to the important post of Commander of
the Turkish contingent, and also whether the Go-
vernment had yet appointed a person to proceed
to the Crimea to ascertain the exact state of the
army at the present time. (Hear.) He wished to
know also whether the Government would have any
objection to lay on the table of the house a statement of
the war services of Major-General Vivian. It appeared
to him (the Earl of Ellenborough) to be a matter of the
greatest importance that this gentleman should be qua•
lified in every particular for the command of the
Turkish army. He had asked fir this infor-
mation really because he was unable to obtain
it elsewhere. Let it not be supposed that he
at all impugned the military character of Major-General
Vivian, because he really knew nothing about bim. This
officer might, for all he knew, be a 'most gallant
and respectable gentleman. He, however, believed that
Major General Vivian had not even obtained the honour
of Commander of the Bath, and considering the liberality
with which that honour was given to the officers of the
Indian army, it struck him that this fact was sufficient
to show that this officer had not distinguished himself
upon any important occasion. The noble earl then
referred to other circumstances, with a view of showing
the unfitness of Major-General Vivian for this com-
mand, and observed that before any of the Indian
officers were appointed to command any portion
of the flaws in the Crimea, a statement
should have been made to the Governor-General of
India on the subject, and his advice asked in respect to
such appointment.
Lord PANMURE regretted the course the noble
earl had thought it his duty to pursue. He did not
mean to question the right of the noble earl to make
such inquiry, but he did question the justice of the
noble earl's observations as far as Major-General
Vivian was concerned. He (Lord Panmure) could
scarcely say that Major-General Vivian was yet ap-
pointed to the command of the Turkish contingent, inas-
much as he was still in concert with that gallant officer
upon the subject referred to. He had no hesitation in
stating that a more gallant officer to take command of
the Turks could not be found. The testimonials he had
read from Major-General Vivian were of the highest
possible description, and such as any officer might be
proud of. With respect to the appointment of an officer
to proceed to the Crimea to ascertain the state of the
army, he bad to state that it was not the
intention of her Majesty's Government to appoint
any person to perform that duty, it being the intention
of the Government to wait for the report of the gallant
gentleman appointed to the command of the staff.
Lord VIVIAN was astonished that any noble lord
should be found not only to make an attack on, but to
canvas the appointment in such a manner as to damage
the reputation of a military officer. Such an attack was
as unjust as it was cruel. The noble lord then read a
letter from General Armstrong, of Madras, the General
in command of the Presidency, speaking in the highest
terms of the military ability of Major-General Vivian.
The subject then dropped.
On the motion of the LORD CHANCELLOR, the
Criminal Justice Bill and Speedy Trial of Offenders Bill
passed through committee.
THE TRANSPORT SERVICE.
The Earl of HARDWICKE rose to move for the returns of
which he had given notice, relating to the transport service, as
follows ;—" Return of the number of transports employed in
carrying troops and munitions of war, between the Ist of
November, 1853, and the Ist of January, 1855, inclusive ; the
name of each vessel (transport) ; her tonnage under old and
new measurement, distinguishing steam from sailing vessels ;
if steam, number of horse power ; showing the amount of ton-
nage occupied by machinery, coals, crew, water, provisions,
and ship stores; showing what amount is left for cargo ;
showing if any transport is under agreement for postal or any
other service previous to being taken up as a transport ;
showing the amount for the hiring of each vessel per month
orper year ; how long a period each transport is hired for ;
for what service she is engaged ; from what owner she is hired ;
showing whether any alteration has been made in the terms
since first hired, and, if any, what difference; if alterations
have been made (or fittings added) in the internal arrange-
ments of any transport, describing the alteration or fitting,
with the vessel's name ; at whose expense the alteration or
fitting has been made, and the amount of expense incurred."
In submitting this motion, he felt bound to make some state-
ment of the ease which induced him to press for these return'.
Nothing could convey a stronger notion of the desire existing
among the public to carry on this war with vigour, anti for
that purpose to lay the whole resources,of the country at the
feet of the Government, than the fact that the other night a
vote of 5,081,000/. should have passed the other house with-
out discussion, intended to defray the cost of the transport
service for the ensuing year, which must be added to
the sum of 3,582,0001., its cost, during the past year.
Those two sums, added together, would, in his belief,
purchase the whole of the transports employed in the
service of tho Crown. He found that there were 102
steam transports, of 121,4'60 tons, and 115 sailing vessels of
93,172 tons; making together a tonnage of 214,232, hired at
the rate of 16/. a tou per mouth for the wholedieriod, not in-
cluding the cost of coals. In 1830 and 1831 the amount of
money asked for the whole service of the Royal Navy was
about equal to that now asked for transports only—the naval
estimates then amounting to between 5,000,000/. and
6,000,000/. Under these circumstances, the question natu-
rally asked by every man living was, how had this amount of
money been expended ? He would venture to assert that in
the whole service of the Crown there had hardly ever been
evinced a greater degree of profligate extravagance in the ex-
penditure of money, carelessness and ignorance iu the snaking
of contracts, slovenliness in their employment of vessels, and
confusion and mismanagement as to their departures from and
arrivals in the ports of this country. In the region where
they were employed their utility had been marred by the
utter want of arrangement in everything that concerned the
business of embarking, carrying, and landing cargoes, so fa-
miliar to all persons engaged in mercantile concerns in this
country. When first the war broke out, and it was thought
necessary to have a large quantity of shipping in readiness,
ships came forward so quickly that the whole trade of the
country seemed to be laid for the moment at the feet of the
Crown. Government made engagements with the owners of
the transports on terms that astonished the merchants, and
showed them to be utterly ignorant of the manner in which bnsi-
ness of this kind ought to be conducted. The tonnage wa, bar-
gained and paid for on the builder's measurement, though every
one was aware that that was merely nominal, the difference be-
tween it and the real tonnage being often so wide that in the
case of the Britannia, for example, the builder's tonnage was
1,154, whilst the tonnage for cargo was but 619, 535 tons
being taken up by the propelling power. The expense being
so enormous, it not unnaturally occurred to Government, that
the best mode of extricating themselves from the difficulty
would be to purchase the vessels hired. Two transports of
the number were actually so purchased, and delivered to the
uses of the Crown, but the only result was to entail a great
additional expense on the country—the Prince having been
lost in the storm at Balaklava, and the Perseverance upset
the other day in the dock, and so much damaged that she
would require to be refitted for service at a very great outlay.
Another company whose ships were hired, and which carried
on the postal service with the North American and West
Indian colonies, continued to receive between 200,000/. and
301,0001. a year from the Government, although it was actu-
ally deprived of the means of fulfilling the engagements of its
postal contract. The fact was, that from the number of
steamers hired by the Government, communication with our
colonies abroad, and with the Crimea itself, was almost
stopped. Whilst the owners of the transports thus hired re-
velled in the enjoyment of highly advantageous contracts, the
vessels had in many cases been called upon to perform little
or no service. The Simla, a very large ship, of about 3,000
tons, lay six weeks at Constantinople without anything to do,
to the astonishment of everybody. In another case, a vessel
loaded in England with boots and shoes for the Crimea was
not allowed to discharge its cargo on arriving at Balaklava,
and bad to cross the Black Sea three or four times before she
had an opportunity of doing so. Another flagrant case of
mismanagement was that of the potatoes sent out by the Hes-
perus, which lay so long on board that they began to grow,
and were finally distributed by the captain to the Jews and
other strangers residing at Balaklava, who sold them to the
troops for whose benefit theyhad been intended, atthe highest
possible price. It was observable that transports laden with
stores for the use of the navy at any of the dockyards were
properly stowed and loaded, whilst in those carrying army
stores utter confusion prevailed, the commissariat stores,
ordnance shot and shells, and medical stores, being all so
jumbled together, that the wrong articles were placed up-
permost, and the cargoes either not filled up, or excessive.
The same mismanagement attended the arrival of the trans-
ports in the harbour of this country. In various instances
they have been ordered round from Portsmouth to the Med-
way, at a cost of not less than 400/. for coals, to landper-
haps 100 invalids, who might have been conveyed by railway
for 50/. It was most important that such matters should be
brought under the notice of Parliament, in order that there
might be some chance of having those tremendous mistakes
and abuses rectified. Such had been the confusion prevailing
as to the embarkation of cargo, and the ignorance of the
Government authorities, that when the Prince was lost the
Admiralty wrote to every dockyard in tho country in-
quiring if they knew what was in her, and what cargo she
had received at that particular port. Could anything be more
absurd than to make such inquiries of the western dackyawls,
' when the vessel had been loaded under the very nose of Go-
vernment in the Thames ? Of all matters connected with the
management of the war, it appeared to him tbat none might
have been more easily or simply provided for than the trans-
port service. Had Government only asked the advice of any
established mercantile house as to the best mode of turning
shipping to account, he was confident that the amount of
money asked for tho transport service might have been
greatly reduced. He would suggest that the surest and most
economical plan to follow in hiring steam-ships was to make
a contract with the owner, including the price of coal ;
but
taking the power of deducting say 50s. for every ton of coal
supplied to him. He was informed that the Simla had been
hired at the rate per month of 90,000/. a-yeas., her whole
cost not having been more than 100,0001., and every one con-
versant with such subjects must know that 25 per cent. would
be ample to cover all the expenses of the ship, He was
sorry to observe that only the other day occurred an instance
of the came wasteful extravagance as had been marked. Their
lordships had heard much of the issue of coffee in the raw
bean to the troops in the Crimea. The Government, being
anxious to remedy this crying evil as speedily as possible,
hired a ship to proceed to the Crimea with roasted coffee.
For this purpose the Telegraph was engaged, a screw
staamer of 500 tons register and 900 tons builders' measure-
ment, which had cost its owners 28,0001., and the Government
agreed to pay for its use 2,500/, a month, which would in ten
months give the full value of the vessel. She was loaded with
s
coffee, and about to start, when General Simpson, w
to have gone out in her, saw her and declared that
for they
hehwooUld
not go in her. He did not—nor did the ship
itself;
ran in through
loaded her so deeply with coffee that the woatl7gre to take her
the water-closet tubes, and they were
into dock. If she reached Constantinople b
at all he believed
it would only be after coaling three or four times on the toy-
age The facts he had mentioned was valYWaPlefi of ho