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

LOI“ION, TUESDAY XVENX

while probably the cavalry would not be found so well
adapted to the nature of the country and that service in
which it would be engaged as cavalry belonging almost to
the country in which the operations were to be performed.
As to transferring from India such officers as Major
Outram and Major Edwardes, my right hon. friend the
President of the Board of Control would probably have a
word or two to say upon that point, because India is
worth protecting as well as Sebastopol is worth attacking
—(hear, hoar)—and those officers are occupying points of
great importance in India ; and I apprehend that the
Governor-General of Indig would not at all thank the
Government at home if we deprived him of those able
officers upon whose ability and services he counts in the
event of circumstances arising which might require that
India should be defended as well as the Crimea invaded.
It is unnecessary for me to point out to you that many cir-
circumstances might arise in which it would be necessary
that the Governor-General of India should have ample
means to protect our territories in that quarter of the
globe. The hon. member for East Surrey wishes to know
what better machinery we have established for providing
and sending out clothing and other things for the troops iu
the Crimea. That is exactly one of the arrangements which
her Majesty's Government have felt it their imperative duty
to give their earnest attention to. We know the great im-
portance of seeing not only that things are sent, because
abundance of things have been sent from this country, but
also of making arrangements in which the things sent from
this country shall reach the men and the horses for which
they were intended. The defect has not been the want of
things sent from this country, for forage, ammunition,
horses, everything that could be required has be3n de-
spatched from this country ; and, whatever may now be
thought upon the subject, I venture to say that when the
matter comes to be looked into, it will be found that there
never was sent from England so large a force in so short a
time, so fully equipped, so well provided with everything
necessary for the comfort of the officers and men, and for
the service for which they were destined, as the army
which was sent to the East in the course of the past year.
The deficiencies arose from the want of arrangements for
conveying to the men and to the horses the things that
were sent for them. And I must say that there were great
truth and great force in the observations which fell from
the hon. member for NorthWarwickshire (Mr.Newdegate)
in answer to the attack which have been made upon the
aristocracy, along with whom I suppose we must include
the gentry of this country ; for I believe the term " aris-
tocracy" includes the two. In reply to the charges that
our army hai not been so successful as it ought to ha.Te
been, in consequence of the great 'number of gentlemen
who are officers in it, I think the hon. member made the
most triumphant answer, by showing that where your
system has broken down—that where evil has arisen
from the want of capacity, of energy, of intelligence,
or of the accurate and zealous performance of duty—it was
not that the gentry, not that the aristocracy, not that the
noblemen in the army were in fault, but persons belonging
to other classes of the community. It is in the medical
department, the commissariat department, and the trans-
port department, which nobody contends are filled with
the sons of the aristocracy or the gentry. It is there that
your system ha's broken down—it is there that the service
has failed ; and this it is that has been the main cause of
the suffering of which we are all complaining. (Hear.)
Now, the hon. member for North Warwickshire also ex-
pressed hie hope that the new clothing for the army would
be provided in time to be of use for the ensuing campaign.
I can assure the hon. gentleman and this House that no
efforts shall be omitted to secure the promptest despatch
of that clothing ; and I entertain not the slightest doubt
that it will arrive of the proper quality and in due time.
I believe that I have now touched upon most of the re-
marks which have been made during the discussion. No-
body disputes the importance of having a large and effec-
tive army. I don't apprehend that any hon. member
objects to the amount of force that we propose, or to the
extent of the other means required to make that force
effective. I trust that between this and the openingof the
next campaign the Government will be able to organise a
sufficient army of reserve to give it the power of putting
into the field a force sufficient to cope with whatever diffi-
culties it may have to contend. And lam perfectly satis-
fied, if that army shall be called upon to vindicate the
honour of England, and maintain its interests by the con-
tinuance of the war, that the country will find that the
duty required of it will be well performed—that the ex-
perience of the last few months will have enabled us to
correct those faults and errors which have unfortunately
been committed, and that by the various instrumentalities
which the Government are setting to work to reorganise
and rearrange the different departments of the service, we
shall be able to send into the field an army of which the
country will be proud, and whose achievements will, I
trust, deserve the thaaks and acknowledgments of Parlia-
ment.

Colonel SIBTHORP said that when he heard from the
noble lord at the head of the Government that a noble lord
who had been sufficiently condemned and convicted by the
country was to be sent to Vienna to patch up a sort of
peace, he could not help expressing a fear that that peace
would not be creditable or honourable to the country. He
was very glad that that noble lord had retired, and he
hope I to God be never would come forth again. (A. laugh.)
The noble lord the member for Tiverton had seemed to
threaten hon. members behind him with a dissolution of
Parliament. Well, he (Colonel Sibthorp) did not care if
there were. Old birds were not to be caught with chaff—(a
laugh)—and that threat would not induce him to vote
with the noble lord. The former Government had not
done their duty, and although he hoped that the present
Government lvould do theirs, he could not help entertain.
ing some apprehensions, seeing that it was composed of
nearly the same members as the late Administration.

After a few words from Mr. PIGOTT,
Mr. BARROW wished to know whether steps had been
taken to provide the 10th Hussars, now on their way from
India, with clothing suitable to the climate of the Crimea,
and also with tents for themselves and their horses

Mr. PEEL said the regiment in question was not pro-
ceeding directly to the Crimea, but would remain in India
antil the winter was past.
- . -

Mr. J. BALL denied that the hon. member for Ayles-
bury (Mr. Layard) had imputed to any one class or rank of
the army an inferior desire to perform their duty. What he
did say, and what the country believed, was that the
public affairs would not be properly administered until
steps were taken to put in responsible and arduous positions
men of ability and energy, in whatever rank they might be
found. He regretted, however, to see that the Government
had shown no disposition to recognise this necessity, and
had taken no, better steps to remedy the proved deficiency
of ability in many departments of the army in the Crimea
than by sending out commissioners. For instance, the cor-
respondence with respect to the supply of roasted coffee to
the troops which had been laid on the table of the house,
had quite sufficiently shown the deficiencies of Commissary
General Filder, upon whom the well-being of the army in
great measure depended, and yet it did not appear that any
steps had been taken for his removal. He particularly ob-
jected to the conducting of business by moans of private
correspondence, which threw difficulties in the way of the
obtaining information by Parliament.
Colonel KNOX suggested, upon the best authority, that
it would he inconvenient to enlist men for varying periods.
He should at the proper time put a question, which he had
previously put without obtaining an answer, upon the
subject of money transmitted by soldiers in the East to their
families.

Mr. J. WILSON explained that when the coffee was
first sent cut it was not sent as rations, but as special com-
fort. As soon as practicable after it was ordered to be
issued as a ration, it was issued ready roasted. During
the Kafir war coffee was issued to the men in a green state,
because in that state it was found to keep better than if
roasted. It was also the practice of the French to send
the coffee to the Crimea unroasted. The private letters to
which the hon. member (Mr. Ball) had referred were
supplementary to, and not instead of, public documents.
Colonel NORTH complained that areturn he had moved
for on the subject of the coffee had not been made exactly
as required. The reply to Mr. Collier's offer to supply
roasted coffee, sent by Sir Charles Trevelyan, was, in his
opinion, couched in insolent and disrespectful terms. He
should like to know the reasons which induced the Go-
vernment to decline Mr. Collier's offer to assist in grinding
the coffee for our soldiers in the Crimea. If the French
had a complete apparatus, as he bad been informed they
had, for grinding and roasting their coffee in the camp,
he would ask why it was that the English army had not the
same facilities? (Hear.) It was perfectly disgraceful that
we were not placed on a similar footing with the French
in this respect.

Colonel BOLDER° bore additional testimony to the
bad state both of the coffee and the porter in the English
camp, from the communications he had received from the
Crimea.

Mr. WILSON contended that Sir Charles Trevelyan was
perfectly justified, under the circumstances) in declining
Mr. Oolliel's offer to assist in grinding the coffee, he
having, at that time, every reason to believe that there
was no necessity for such assistance.
Some further conversation ensued on the subject of the
unroasted coffee, in which Mr. Walpole, Mr. Wilson, and
Colonel North took part, and the vote was agreed to.
The next vote of 7,353,801/., for defraying the charge of
of her Majesty's land forces, was then agreed to without
discussion.