The Sun.
London, England, 1855-05-15 00:00:00

forms of public service, there was nothing bu
hon. gentleman, that as far as was compatibletwitihilinthge.
zset
gt—si3heomulidghbtesoabytaa
of such great importance.
inceiedsiarte—antheaartlythdeaysenuspoonof
rawPaatrtleiras-
Mr. DISRAELI—Then the noble lord does not pro-
pose to name any day himself ?
Lord PALMERSTON—No.
REFORM OF CORPORATION OF LONDON.
In reply to a question from Mr. LABOUCHERE,
Sir G. GREY stated it was the intention of her Ma-
jesty's Government to introduce a bill for the reform of
the Corporation of the City of London at an early day.
SANITARY CONDITION OF THE
METROPOLIS.
Lord EBRINGTON, having no desire to impede the public business, postponed his motion relative to the sani-
tary condition of the metropoiis, and to the urgency of
enabling the Metropolitan Commissioners of Sewers to
turn to account the two months remaining available for
the execution of preventive and palliative Works before
the hot weather rendered imminent the outbreak and
spread of epidemic di°orders.

CUSTOMS DUTY BILL.
After a few words from Mr. APGREGOR and Mr.
HEYWORTH against the bill, the third reading was agreed
to without a division.
DISTILLA LION OF SPIRITS FROM MALT.
In answer to a question from Mr. GROGAN,
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER stated
it was his intention shortly after Whitsuntide to intro-
duce a bill for the permission of distillation from malt in
bond, and to extend to sugar the same regulation as
malt, the change to commence from October next.
METROPOLIS LOCAL MANAGEMENT BILL.
On the order of the day for the house going into com-
mittee on this bill,
Sir B. HALL said it was not his intention by this
bill to interfere with the principle of Hobhonse's Act, or
in any manner to modify it. Amongst the alterations
he proposed, was that of altering the amount of qualifi-
cation for vestrymen in the metropolitan districts.
Under Hobhouse's Act the qualification was
401. in the metropolitan districts, but he found that in
some of the districts there were few 401. houses, in com-
parison with others of a less value, and he proposed that
in such parishes where the 401. houses formed an insig-
nificant portion of the rateable houses the qualification
for vestrymen should be reduced to 251., and be
further proposed that the necessity of residence should
be abolished, because he thought it a hardship that mer-
chants and others who were largely rated in one parish
and resided in another should be prevented, because they
did not sleep on the premises, from taking part in its local
government. This bill had only been denounced at one put -
lie meeting in the metropolis at which there were not
more than 30 rate-payers present, which he looked upon
as significant of the bill being received with satisfaction
in the metropolis.

Lord EBAING TON moved, as an amendment, that
the further consideration of the bill be deferred till the
house had decided upon the principles of the bill an-
nounced by the President of the Board of Health for the
modification of the act commonly known ae Hobhouse's
Act, which act was proposed to be incorporated in the
Metropolitan Bill. His lordship at great length en-
tered into the objections he had to the details of
the measure, which he said were in union with the
opinions of his constituents.
Mr. LA.BOUCHERE was opposed to re-discussing
this bill after the house had once approved of the prin-
ciple, and hoped the house would be allowed to go into
committee on the bill.

Sir H. WILLOUGHBY thought the bill, as it was
at present, rather unintelligible.
After a somewhat desultory discussion, Lord Ebring-
ton withdrew his motion.
Mr. MAcKnurorr then moved that the bill be referred
to a select committee, and the motion was seconded by
Mr. PELLATT.

Sir G. GREY opposed the motion, considering that
no grounds had been stated for referring the bill to a
select committee.

Sir G. Peelle li and Mr. Williams likewise opposed
the motion, which was supported, in a modified manner,
by Mr. M. Chambers and Lord Ebrington, and, upon a
division, negatived by 131 to 8.
The ouse then went into committee upon the bill, a
few of the clauses of which had been gone through,
when the Chairman was ordered to report progress.
The Jurisdiction of the Stannary Court Amendment
Bill was read a second time.
The Derial-grounds (Scotland) Bill passed through
committee.

The Infants',Marriage Bill was read a third time and
passed.

Other bills passed through committee.
Mr. KENDALL obtained leave to bring in a bill for
the better regulation of the payment of poor s rate on
the royalties of mines in England and Wales ; and the
Lord Advocate a bill to consolidate and amend the laws
relating to bankruptcy in Scotland.
The house then adjourned.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

(From the Times of this day.)
LORD ELLENBOROUGH'S MOTION.
The intentions announced last night by Lord Ellenborough
were in all respects meritorious—to restore to Parliament
that influence which it ought to possess over the public
opinion of this country ; to place the House of Lords in the
front of the battle for the rights of merit and for adminis-
trative reform ; to assure the Crown of the fearless deter-
mination of Parliament to give its active support to the war,
while it lays bare the causes that have hitherto increased our
sacrifices and impaired our success. These were objects
worthy of a great orator, a great crisis, and a great display
crowded, never
eevxecii.tmeanti.norNeeerw
brilliant tahuedlocuesegrfongrdth'cingoarle-
leries or besiege the bar, never was public curiosity more
excited ; yet, in spite of all these announcements, of all
these preparations, and of the tiptoe avidity of the public,
we are constrained to add that the debate in no degree
realised these expectations, and the large majority which ne-
gatived Lord Ellenborough's resolutions expressed the opinion
of all who listened impartially to the debate, and of all, we
believe, who will read the report with similar impartiality
this morning. The most brilliant audience in Britain was,
indeed, kept for above an hour suspended between plati,
tudes which no one could contest, and paradoxes which
no one could believe ; and we suspect that most of those
present retired with the melancholy conviction that, although
the country may be sorely in want of a powerful War Minis-
ter, that heaven-born statesman is not to be found in the
accomplished orator who had commenced the discussion. Nor
was Lord Derby more fortunate. Brilliant as usual, his
speech failed to convince his warmest admirers that he was
sincere in desiring the Administrative Reform which he
affected to advocate, and he must have borne his friend's de-
feat with more even than his ordinary resignation.
Lord Ellenborough, with characteristic military tactics, be-
gan the action by throwing out his light troops, and succeeded
by a small anecdote in raising a faint laugh. But this petty
advantage was not favourable to his career, and in discussing
the wars of empires we can forget the fa, te of small birds.
The true gist of the speech was confined to two points- -the
strategical operations of the war as projected and executed
by the late Government in the last campaign, and the selec-
tion of men for the public service, and especially for
the military service of the country, without . interest
or favour, but by the sole test of merit. On this last
point we need not say that we cordially agree with Lord El-
lenborough, and that he has the country to back him ; but
the application he made of the principle led him, as we shall
presently see, to a most extraordinary paradox.
We gather from Lord Ellenborough's rerarks on the last
campaign that he would have preferred, if possible, that the
English and French armies should have been engaged in dis-
tinct operations, in order to avoid the evils of a divided com-
mand. He approves, however, the gradual advance of the
forces, the lines at Gallipoli, and the landing at Varna, but
from that point his course of operations would have been
wholly different. He appears to think that one portion of
the allied forces ought to have been employed in Asia to co-
operate with the Turkish army of Kars, and that the re-
mainder should have co-operated with the Turks and Aus-
trians in the Principalities, so as to drive the Russians from
the Pruth to the Dnieper. There have, no doubt, been many
defects of military judgment and administrative ability in the
conduct of the past campaign, but, all things considered, no
blunders have been committed at all approaching to the ab-
surdity of these suggestions. The position of the allied
armies has been most trying during a winter in the Crimea
within six miles of the sea ; what would it have been in
the mountainous regions of Armenia, cut off by rocks
and snow from the coast, and buried in that wild
region which Xenophon crossed by a march still cited
as a miracle in militail, history ? The Government are
sometimes accused of not knowing what they under-
took when they invaded the Crimea, but that reproach
is, at least, ill-founded in the mouths of men who would
have despatched an army into Mingrelia and Imeritia. Again,
Lord Ellenborough advocates a campaign in the valley of the
Danube, the Principalities, and the plains of Bessarabia—a
country already exhausted by the passage of armies, 'infected
with pestilence, scorched by heat in summer, and swept by
the severest cold in winter—where we must have encountered
as we advanced two or three fold our own numbers in the
ranks of the enemy. Both these plans appear to us so ex-
travagant, and so evidently fatal to the troops which might
have been engaged in them, that they materially shake what-
ever confidence we might have been disposed to place in Lord
Ellenborough's judgment and sagacity; and we are confident
that the difficulties we have already had to surmount in our
operations would have been immeasurably increased if these
schemes had been adopted. Lord Ellenborough, on the con-
trary, omits the one main point of our superiority and our
success. We are making war at a great distance from home,
lit climates and countries we know little of, where even food
and habitations are scarce, and the means of inland communi-
cation wholly deficient:' What, then, have we in all cases
command
to rely
upon ? Our maritime superiority, which gives u.snt h
b
of the sea; our innumerable transports,w
enable gu Franco and
to main-
tainh
ich
England into contact with Russia,
and
onesus.
railroads and telegraphs on the soil of the
Tauric Cho
exposers ed it to
It is the peninsular form of the Crimeaea
n
and even to plant our
our armies, to reinforce our troops,
the attacks of the maritime Powers, and which enables them
base of operations.
with a secure
maritime character of
sight of the
Lord Ellenborough loses
t reeive that the conquest of
to carry on the war there
the war, and hence he does no pe
us to pursue, whereas with the Russian
ject he recommends . .
ured in Sebastopol no other opera-
tionlieet unattacked and uninjured the Crimea would go far to the attainment of every other ob-
e been attempted.
could with safety.
'the most unlooked-for portion of
however, singular as they un-
do Adopting the popular cry for
Lord Ellenborough's speech.
merit and capacity in opposition to
ystraartee,giwcaelvviielowsatv
of
vouritismthe advancementTubhteesdle
routine, ho 'gave his unqualified support to
and
those principles which the experience of the last few mouths
hasplaced in the mouth of every man not pledged by interest
or
prejudice to the existing system. We give Lord Ellenbo-
rough credit for something of that sprrit which enabled Lord
Chatham to select the best instruments for the boldest • and to triumph over obstacles in war which b
ffi policy,
a ed the con-
galley and the courage even of his illustrious son But, while
Lord Ellenborough gave utterance to these honourable.
patriotic
sentiments, we wore not prepared and
to hear him •
up his harangue by a direct appeal to the wind
his hereditary auditors. The merit to • personal merits of
for the work of administrative ref which the country looks
those who raise their own fortunes
is the personal merit of
own names—the merit of those shand confer a lustre on their
do not often inherit them. There o make peerages, but who
is scarcely a peer in that
assembly who cannot invoke the
fame of some illustrious an-
cestor, and reckon the honours
sof the realm. Vino neither
he bears from some eminent
forget their past services
nor grudge them these rewards. But is it possible that Lord